


Gems of What

by Alfdis



Series: Gems of War [1]
Category: Gems of War, Video Games - Fandom
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Family, Fanfic, Fanfiction, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Fun, Goblin Rocket, Goblin Shaman, Goblins, High King Irongut, Humour, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Marid, Romance, Sex, Signe - Freeform, Tyri, gems of war - Freeform, merida - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:41:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29002374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alfdis/pseuds/Alfdis
Summary: Signe falls into the world of Krystara, meets the hero and her friends, and falls in love.I really like the game Gems of War. Very relaxing, some interesting characters and funny dialog. Merida is the character I play in the game but I thought it would be more fun if it was written from the view of the player themself.If this is fun to write and people are interested in reading it I will introduce more of the games characters as I go along.
Relationships: Signe/Marid
Series: Gems of War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127666





	1. The Nice, Little Demon

I hit the ground hard. All the air was pressed from my lungs and I struggled to breath. Finally succeeding at drawing a deep, rasping breath I sat up on my knees and stopped breathing again. First I thought the fall had damaged my sight, causing me to see cloudy rays of purple shooting from the hands of what looked like a skeleton in a billowing cloak, but then I realized there were people dodging the rays, rolling about, jumping and dancing while swinging blades. They too could see the strange apparition.  A beam of purple smoke went straight for me and I merely sat watching as it approached, unable to move. I inhaled sharply when something to my right collided with me and plastered me  to the ground for the second time. I looked up and locked eyes with gray surrounded by red locks. She was clad in green and after checking me over for a second she was up and gone again throwing herself into the fight that did not seem to go well for the skeleton, a good thing I hoped. The rest of the fight I sat dumbstruck and kept an eye out for the charges that seemed to come with greater spaces between as the small group of people hacked and slashed closer and closer to it.

There were the green clad woman, who clearly was the leader, shouting orders and fighting with much determination. Then another woman  who also was in green though a whole lot lighter dressed, showing off lots of skin and a frontal assault that made me shamelessly stare in wonder as she jumped, rolled hacked and ran, smiling and laughing like this was the best time of her life. The third was a man, shrouded in  red, brown and golden clothing making him appear like an Arabic soldier. He also wielded a scimitar, and the metallic round adornments on his cape and belt  was clinging along with his blade but beside that he did not look at all  exotic.

The gurgling sound of the skeleton exhaling something somehow from its non-existing lungs ended the fight and all I could hear was the panting of the three fighters. No two.

Before I could even fathom what was going on the light woman swung out right in front of me and lashed out. I covered my face with my arm and heard a sharp, metallic sound. Carefully peeking over my arm I found the woman blocked by both the man and the leader.

“She came out of the portal! She’s a demon!” the woman shrieked clearly annoyed.

“No,” the leader stated.

“Yes!”

“Tyri…” the man said exasperated.

I had no idea if saying something would help or just make things worse so I kept quiet.

“What is she then?” It was more a provocation than a question.

“We should ask.” The leader looked at me but before she said anything the other woman named Tyri cut in.

“I say we slice her a bit first, **then** ask questions.”

“Tyri…” this time it was both the leader and the man who said her name.

“Fine…” she put her blades away and wandered off into the background seemingly pouting.

“You have a name?”

“ Signe ,” I croaked out. “ Signe Venäläinen.”

“ Are you a demon?”

“No.”

“You came through a portal…” the man mused.

“I did?”

“ What is the last thing you remember?” the leader  inclined her head and looked me thoroughly over.

“I was at the airport, going to check in, and then I hit the ground,” I looked at the spot to the right of me where I had made contact with this madness for the first time.

“So you are an air elemental?” the man looked suspicious, brows furrowed, steel gray eyes cutting into me.

“Not the last time I checked…” I ran my hand down over my chest but I felt quite normal.

“It was not an air portal the necromancer opened,” the leader looked at the man.

“No it was something quite demonic and dark and I say we just get rid of _it_ to be on the safe side,” Tyri was back.

“ Please don’t,” it was difficult to breath  and I felt like crying but it was stuck in me.

They continued a heated discussion about what had happened, what to do, and my faith. I was not there, they completely ignored me.

Looking around I found myself in a ruin, dark, broken stones, half stacked, crumbled and crushed was spread out. The sun was high in the sky but shrouded with dark clouds, everything seemed, wet and green, and in the distance I could see tombstones – a graveyard and a church ruin.

My eyes fell on something squared and mat black, my backpack. I looked once more at the three people arguing, and then slowly got up and went for my belongings. I turned the backpack over and found it quite undamaged, at least I still had all my essentials, a bit of clothing, and maybe some gadgets if they had not been broken in the fall. A  cold, chiseled blade came to rest at my throat and I noticed how quiet everything had gotten.

“What are you doing?” the leaders voice sounded behind me.

“Checking if my belongings are damaged,” I could not help but swallow thickly and was at once punished, as the light movement made the edge of steel perforate my skin.

“ What’s in the bag?” I heard Tyri  ask greedily.

“Some clothing, my toothbrush, hairbrush, whatever little things I need to make traveling comfortable,” I small talked and with shaky hands found my passport and handed it over my shoulder feeling how it at once was taken.

“What’s this?” the leader asked and I could hear how she looked through the pages probably stopping to look at the unflattering picture.

“A passport. I bet not many demons need those to travel.” A bluish-gray lock of hair came into view and I could feel the warmth of Tyri as she somehow had mingled herself in between me, the blade and the man holding it.

“And does the nice, little demon has treasures too,” she purred close to my ear.

“Tyri… ” mumbled the leader apparently still absorbed by my passport.

The blade remained at my throat and I thought I would humour Tyri. Sticking my hand into the small compartment of the largest room I pulled out my wallet and withdrew a nice stack of European notes.

“Here you go, Tyri.” since I could not see her but had a pretty strong idea where here head was I shoved them in her face.

“What’s this!?” She sounded both disappointed and excited.

“Money.”

“This is not gold!”

I snorted.

“Give it back,” the leader cut in.

“No!” I could hear the paper bills crumble as Tyri possessively squashed them close.

“Don’t worry I highly doubt I will be needing them,” I interjected dryly, wondering what currency they worked with in Coo-Coo Land.

“Tyri… ” there was a warning tone in the man’s voice.

“No! The nice, little demon gave them to  **me** .”

“She has a name, you know,” he countered.

“Apparently Tyri and I are the only ones who have names here,” I cut in a whole lot more bitchy than I meant to.

“ Ooohhh, you dare giv e the demon your name brother?” Tyri taunted. “She might make you disappear.” She giggled.

“She already has yours and you’re still here,” he replied with disdain.

“Enough,” the leader cut in and the blade was removed from my throat.

I rubbed the small cut on my skin and got blood on my fingers. Feeling a hand on my shoulder I slowly turned and looked at the leader.

“ I am Merida, this is Marid, and you already know Tyri,” she handed me my passport back. “I don’t know who you are or where you are from but you are not a demon.  We should get far away from here before nightfall. Feel free to come with us  Signe , it is a lot safer to travel together. ”


	2. Lost

We walked until nightfall. Tyri and Marid was fighting on and off the entire time and I had no idea how they had the breath for that. All I could do was grind my teeth and keep up.

Merida was sweet, offering me water and some dry meat when she found out I had no food or water myself. I tried to explain to her that such things were illegal to bring along on the kinds of travel I had been on, so now the small team was convinced I was on some sort of spiritual travel despite my protests.  Although I liked to travel light, and had through the years optimized my belongings to the most practical of levels, my backpack still felt like Rocky Mountains before we finally stopped to rest.

Tyri was bouncing around more than ever which earned her the great honour of gathering wood and water. Marid slipped off into the growing darkness and returned much later with some animals that got skinned, skewered and grilled over the fire.

Meanwhile Merida patrolled the area and I felt she was going to ask a lot of questions while she had me on her own.  I looked at her when she returned. The last rays of the sun made her hair look like a helmet of fire. She had braided the limb strands on both side of her face and  three thick braiding laid over her head. She smiled at me.

“How are you holding up?”

“I live,” I smiled back. “ Do you think I can ever go home?” I thought she was the one to ask questions but this just blurted out of me and I once again could feel the tears pressing forward this time closer.

“I don’t know.”

The silence grew between us. I was lost, in a huge world I knew nothing of except monsters lived here, like the necromancer.

“Usually when madmen summons creatures from other worlds they are monsters. Horrid as they come. We kill them. We have never had to send one back.”

Silence once more. I blinked furiously not to cry but not even that battle could I win.

“Not that I see you as a monster,” Merida said comforting. “But things are never sent back.” She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, as I broke down in sobs, tired, hungry, lost, and despairing.

By the time Tyri had returned I had calmed down again. Merida had assured me I could stay with her for as long as I wanted and she would help me all she could. She had also lent me a wash towel and her water skin so I could clean my tear swollen and snotty face before any of the others saw me.  My red eyes could not be helped but hopefully it was dark enough  by now, to hide it.

Whatever Marid had caught tasted good. Or perhaps I was just so hungry that even grass would seem like a gourmet meal.

I unfolded my sleeping bag close to Merida’s blankets and had barely gotten into it before a restless sleep came over me. Dreams of always catching the wrong flights never getting to where I was supposed to, and fearing I would be caught with an insufficient ticket. And the constant terror of falling out the sky, all the planes were all malfunctioning and we were all going to die. It did not take a genius to interpret those dreams…


	3. Useless

I panted and got up again. Merida was standing ready and I tried once more to attack her with my stick. Tyri was laughing on the sideline, cheering me on, and shouting advises – not that it in the end mattered, Merida was an expert with a sword and poked me once again with the tip pf her stick.

“One more time,” she said encouragingly. “Try not to think so hard, just act and try out different things.”

It had been a week now. I was slowly getting used to all the walking and Merida saw it fitting to teach me how to fight. The surroundings got wetter every day and it was hard to even find a dry spot to camp on, which left pretty much everything stained with mud.

Merida and I grew closer every day, Tyri was her own, yet very sociable in her own and very energetic way, particularly if riches were involved. She was the little sister of Marid who could say to be the responsible one of the two. He made sure to keep us all three fed and left the more mundane tasks of setting up camp to the women. Otherwise he was just a pair of cold, gray, narrow eyes always watching. We had not met any monsters yet and for that I was thankful. Merida however thought it best to teach me how to defend myself, sooner rather then later.

I wiped my muddy hands off in my trousers and ignored that my shirt was sticking to my back. Taking a couple of second to catch my breath and memorize the basics Merida had taught me.

I smacked my stick into hers and she parried as usually, pressing her  _ weapon _ away I grabbed hold of her belt and pulled her closer to me. Dropping my stick I used her moment of confusion to bury my fingers in her ribs making her jump. I used my weight pressing her backwards,  p lacing one leg behind hers, causing her to fall, and I started an onslaught of poking.  Merida laughed but still had enough sense to grab my arms twist them behind my back and press me into the dirt, laying her full weight on top of me. Tyri was laughing somewhere in the background and Merida whispered close to my ear.

“Nice try. Remind me to bring you along next time we go hunting for ticklish Orcs and titillative Elves,” she snickered behind me and I relented to her laying limb on the ground.

The bushes rustled and Marid stepped in with something that looked like a small deer. His narrow, gray eyes became slits as he caught sight of Merida pinning me down.

“We are practicing,” Merida explained which seemed to get Marid to relax,  his hand letting go of the hilt of his scimitar, yet he still glared rudely and I became very self aware. Merida was lying on top of me, between my legs, plastered against my backside.  We were both covered in mud, I probably more than her,  and panting . I blushed.  Tyri snickered and ran off.

“I see…”  was Marid’s only comment as he went to sit next to the fire with his prey.

Merida got off  of me, lending me a hand, we  cleaned ourselves up.

“ Well, that tactic is probably something you ought to keep here in camp,” she beamed at me. “But otherwise I actually think you are improving.”

“Really,” I rubbed my wrists. Merida was thin, and rather small but she had an iron gri p .

“Don’t worry, we all ended up in the dirt to begin with. Right now all you have to do is listen to the advises I – and Tyri – gives you. Later you can think about improvising.”

“Then why the last round?” She had asked me not to think just act.

Merida shrugged.

“Just wanted to see what type you are.”

“And?” I asked dryly, not sure I wanted to know.

Merida bit her lip while nodding, taking a long time to answer. Marid was looking too and I wished he would just focus on skinning the animal he had caught.

“ You are quite squishy and adorable,” Merida was still nodding but had a hard time keeping a straight face.

“Some might say cute,” Tyri helped somewhere from the darkness and emerged with more firewood, eager to get the campfire going stronger, clearly as hungry as I was.

“Some might say defenseless,” the words were like  a bucket of ice cold water down my back. Marid returned to his dead animal, ripping the fur off it with his dagger, effortless ly .

A branch came flying across the camp and would have hit him square over the head had he not waved it off with lightning reflexes, and a classic  sibling fight broke out.

Merida gave me a notch with her shoulder and smiled encouragingly to me  but I did not really feel it – only the cold blade Marid had just sunken into my guts. I touched the small  cut he had left on my throat.


	4. Witch!

I struggled against the ropes around my wrists.

“Do not bother, you won’t come loose any time soon.” the large man informed me. “Beside you have nothing to fear if you are truly innocent.”

“What am I guilty off in the first place?” I kicked my legs just to do something but they were tied too.

“Witchcraft.”  
“What!?” I became limb over the man’s shoulder not certain I had heard him right. “What have I done to make you think me a witch?”

“Nothing. It is merely a precaution. All women are witches until the opposite is proved.” He lowered me down and I found myself standing on a primitive bridge ending in a  river . “And here we are.” He sighed deeply.

I looked at the river running by and all too vividly remembered how in medieval times women w ere thrown in large bodies of water. If they floated they were witches  to be tormented and murdered and if they sank they were dead – but innocent.

“Okay, listen here…” I tried to back away, suddenly realizing I had not seen many women in the small village.

The day had started out with Tyri getting pretty badly on her brother’s nerves and  for a moment I thought  Marid would leave  but Merida had cut in. She would take Tyri on a reconnaissance to find the least soggy path through the marshland we had come to, coaxing the hyper-energetical girl along with the words:

“Who knows what else we might find..?”

It left me alone with Marid who after a handful of deep breaths and packing up approached me with jolly news.

“Seems like it is up to us to visit the village,” he nodded in the direction of billowing columns of smoke in the horizon and I tried smiling optimistically and nodded letting him lead the way.

The walk had been uneventful and soaky.  Despite there was something like a road, a great part of the way, we still stepped into knee high puddles and I even succeeded to loose a boot in a swamp hole having to get down on all four, sticking my arm in the soupy water and pull ed my boot out. I demonstratively held it high emptying it and caught sight of Marid through the waterfall of swamp water. For a second I could have sworn those steely gray eyes had crinkled a little in amusement. But as soon as our eyes met, he looked away, unfazed. At least he did not  _walk_ away.

I hurried up next to him and slipped. Trying to catch my balance I waved my arms about and felt something smack against my left hand. I stabilized, straightened up and looked at my hand, clasped tightly in Marid’s.

“Be careful,” he muttered and let go.

“Thank you,” I blushed and he gave me a side way glance and nodded.

T he village was not exact ly merry. The huts were built with the same dark stones as the ruined church had been. Their roofs made from the  black wood found in the gnarly forests that sprouted around the different waterholes of the land.  I could see movement in a door opening.

“Marid,” I whispered feeling really bad about this.

“Calm and quiet,” he replied and I fell in close behind him as we walked into the mud hole that served as the town square.

A fat man came out of the largest hut and Marid greeted him.

“Be greeted, venerable leader. My companion and I have traveled far and long. If you have provisions you can do without, we are willing to pay generously for it.”

I had never heard Marid say so much in one go and I was taken aback at how  eloquent he spoke.

“Great warrior from foreign lands, welcome to our humble  village . We do not have much to offer, but what we have can be bought for a price.”  He gesticulated to the door he had just come from.  “ Join us in the chamber hall and tell us of your travels while we enjoy a hearty meal and the warm fire.”

“It is most kind of you, great leader.” Marid followed the man and I followed Marid.

“Women are not allowed to join the Wise Men.”  The fat man said and before Marid could say anything the door was slammed shut in my face. All I reached to see was Marid turning, his hand on the hilt of his scimitar.

I turned too and felt electrical ants  up and down my spine at the sight of eight men, with ropes and stone faces standing around me.

“ If you have truly traveled through our lands you will know how we suffer from witches, raising the dead and summoning demons.” The large man informed me and grabbed my wrists pulling me forward. “ As the priest it is my duty to keep our village safe from you.”

I was dangling in my arms looking up at him, trying to think of something to do. I had nothing.

“ What have you done to Marid?”

“Do not worry about your companion, we have no quarrels with him. He will get what food we can spare and he can return to his journey.”

“I am  _ not _ a witch!”

“We’ll see,” with those words he threw me,  my scream stuck in my throat as I fell backwards into the unknown darkness of the water that all to eagerly swallowed me. The last thing I saw was the dead eyes of the priest looking at me as if I had finally gotten what I deserved, a shining silver lightning behind his head like a halo.

I sank. _I told him I was not a witch_. Wriggling my legs like a mermaid I tried to swim but the ropes around my ankles made it hard, my clothing heavy with water, and the stream started pulling me.

Not having screamed had saved the precious airs in my lungs but as a splash above me was heard I looked up and locked eyes with the priest. First I thought he had stuck his head in the water to look in on my progress, perhaps even pull me out, but then a red mist started spread and the head turned around revealing the trachea  and esophagus  through a mist of blood.

I screamed. A gurgling, bubbly sound.  Thrashing about in panic another splash sounded. A body. I closed my eyes not wanting to see the other half of the priest. Could I not have gotten to see pretty fishes or a calming light as the l a st thing before I died.  The irony of life hit me along with the body. Great! I was to lie, at the bottom of the lake, dying, with a headless priest on top of me.

The dizziness of air deprivation closed its soothing hands around me and I prepared for the last painful part of my final journey, filling my lungs with water.


	5. The River

I gasped as I broke the surface, my lungs stinging from the water I had already breathed in. Coughing and confused I looked at the shore. The bridge. The body laying splayed out on it dripping blood into the water. I coughed again and this time got the water out, not just from my lungs but also stomach. Panting I focused on the arm around me. The brown sleeve with the red silken bands. I turned my head and looked at Marid who had me pressed against him with one arm, using the other and his legs swimming across the river. I felt how he kicked me again and again trying to keep us afloat. I began waving my tied up legs, doing my best to help but the stream got stronger as we reached the middle of the river and I wondered why we were not swimming for the closest shore. I almost said something but one look at the shore and I knew why Marid was so eager to cross the river. Along the entire length of the village, people were lining up, no _men_ , and they had brought rocks. Throwing them at us. So drowning was not good enough. I had to be stoned as well? They began chanting _witch_ and throwing. Some of them had pretty good aim but it was the least of our concerns.

I panic when my head once again dipped under water. I grabbed Marid’s arm hard as I thought he let me go to save himself but soon realized the problem was the current. It had dragged him down. His arm was still over my chest. A hard pull nearly ended that as the stream tore us with it. I caught his hand and entwined my fingers with his, feeling his other hand taking a hard hold on my shirt.  The river was generous and let us resurface. Gasping for air we looked around and saw the villagers far away still throwing rocks at where we had disappeared. One problem solved. Now we just had to find a way to get out of the river.  A bend brought us into a foaming roar and despite our united efforts on keeping above the surface we got pulled down again. I clung to his chest with my tied up hands. He held me in a suffocating grip. Everything was bubbles and vertigo. A jolt went through Marid’s body and I felt him momentarily grow limp. He had hit something. His arms sliding down my sides. I sunk my teeth into whatever was in front of me, terrified  I  would loos e him.  It felt like minutes before another jolt rippled through him, one arm locking around my waist. We struggled towards what we hoped was the surface, breaching, Marid growled, using his free hand to push my face away, and I realized I had sunk my teeth into his breast.  I let go and we both looked at each other, panting, the sound of labored breath breaking the silence.  The river had calmed. Tall tree s towered over us, thick, lush leaves the size of humans, curved over the shores dipping their tips in the water.  We took a moment catching our breath and looking around as we slowly drifted along. My feet hit something, twisting me in Marid’s grip. Then again, not just me, both of us this time. The water was getting shallower, eventually allowing Marid to almost stand, making it possible for him to push us closer to shore.  We both dived under when Marid’s legs hit solid ground and a fight even heavier, th e n in the current, started since we no longer had the slight up-drift of water and only our heavy, wet clothing pulling us down.  I could not  walk at all being tied so it was up to Marid to fight our way in to shore.  We more  slide d than walked the last bit and collapsed on the muddy bank as soon as we were clear of the water.


	6. Little River Dwellers with Leaf Umbrellas

I woke because my wrists burned. Slowly as I gained conscious I noticed my ankles burning too and my feet were numb.

I opened my eyes and looked at a snail, slowly trailing along the mud in front of me. A hand stuck out of my head and I recognized the brown sleeve with shining, red lines. Groaning as I turned I came face to face with Marid. He was still. His mouth slightly open. I felt fear creep in on me, but then he drew a deep breath and slightly twisted his arm my head was resting on. I was not alone.

I tried getting up but remembered I was tied and on the muddy surface it made it impossible to rise.

“Marid,” I whispered barely able to press forth any sound. “Marid,” I tried a little louder but he did not respond. I had always seen him as a light sleeper but perhaps our watery ordeal had been hard on him. I remembered how he had lost conscious and got up on one elbow looking him over. I could not see any bruises, but it had had to be a close hit to his temple for him to black out like that. He was always shrouded in his dessert outfit and the hat and scarf he wore covered pretty much everything but his face. I did not even know if he had hair…

Looking him over my eyes fell on the dagger in his belt. It was within reach and not big enough for me to accidentally lop his head off. I reached for it and carefully fumbled it out its sheath. After a little struggle I found holding the hilt in my mouth made it possible for me to free my hands. It tasted salty but was awfully sharp, cutting easily through the ropes. I gagged as I removed the hilt from my mouth, pushed myself up, and freed my feet. My wrists were marred with red bruises and my ankles were no better but at least the feeling in my feet began to return.

I was soaked and frozen. Getting up I looked around. We were in one of the black mangrove forests and everything was dead silent. I started walking around to get warm. A bit away I saw a larger tree with its root spread out so wide it looked like a huge umbrella at the bottom. There was a big rock behind it and the roots on the sides were so old and infiltrated that it made a cozy den. I placed my hand on the roots.

“You are old,” rubbing my palm on the rough bark I smiled. I loved trees. I began gathering firewood, not that I knew how to light a fire but with a little luck Marid might have a trick up his sleeve. It began dripping so I hurried gathering as much wood and dryish leaves as possible. Cutting off one of the huge leaves along the bank I placed it over Marid. He was already soaked from our swim but I felt bad just leaving him out in the rain. I cut some more leaves and covered the floor of the den to get away from all the mud. It soon started to pour down and I used a leaf as an umbrella and began looking for roots and berries but with little success. Every now and then returning to check on Marid.

I stiffened as I found the leaf but not Marid. My heart started to race faster and I clutched the dagger hard in my hand. Everything was quiet except the rain falling and the light squishing sound of muddy steps behind me. I swirled around, holding the dagger in front of me like Merida had taught me with a stick.

“What are you doing?” Marid looked at me with a slightly amused look but not contagious.

“What the hell are _you_ doing sneaking up on me like that? You are supposed to lay under your leaf and snooze,” I added matter-of-factly realizing I was standing with his dagger as if it was a stick, holding a leaf like an umbrella as if I was another Totoro and scolding him for not staying under the leaf I had picked for him.

He looked down eyes darting up at me.

“That is my dagger…”

I was still holding my umbrella as if it was the most normal thing one did in this part of the region. The joke was on him since I did not get any more soaked than I already was.

“You were sleeping…” I began trailing off.

“You could have woken me.” He stated with a shrug.

I had no idea what he was up to, I had never seen him like this before, spending most of my time with Merida. My eyes ping ponged up to his forehead where there might be a slight bruising coming along.

“I called your named _twice_ , stole your dagger, slurpingly walked past you in the mud _several times_ , and covered you with a leaf. What kind of rogue are you? A sofa potato type?”

He said nothing and fair enough, he probably did not know what a sofa potato was.

“I needed your dagger to cut me free and then firstly I found it a feat I got it out without waking you not wanting to try my luck by putting it back, secondly it made me feel safer.”

I held the blade and handed him the dagger. He took and slipped it in its sheath.

“Say something…” I sighed.

“Take it,” he replied holding the sheathed dagger out to me.

“Wha- no it is yours.”

“You need to defend yourself,” he reasoned.

“I thought I was defenseless,” I spat before I could help it, already feeling like an ass I took the dagger from him and went to the den.

Marid followed me and stopped inside. I sat down in the farthest corner.

“I have not been able to find anything edible and I can’t start the fire.” I explained hurriedly. “I am drenched,” I changed the subject and felt how my body itched from all the wet cloth I was packed in.

Marid got a fire started without too much trouble and left. Still feeling awkward after our last conversation I focused on getting my clothes off and hanging it from the roots around me. I kept my leggings and shirt on but ditched my boots and socks. Oh how I hoped all the houses had collapsed in the village and the pouring rain would stay over it several days, to teach those men the meaning of being drenched.

I was starting to get warm when Marid returned. The fire was crackling warming the den and Marid had miraculously caught five fish.

“Give me your cloths so I can hang it up to dry.”

He was dripping, forming a puddle on the leaf floor.

“And let me see your head…”

He stopped undressing.

“You hit your head, remember?”

He touched the temple where a bluish black taint had started to form, then his chest.

“It is nothing,” he muttered.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

Reluctantly he removed his red and gold headpiece and scarf with golden tassels. His head seemed small without it. He had brown hair gathered in a short ponytail, dry it would probably be a lighter colour. I pulled myself together, remembering I had demanded him to strip to get a look at his injury, not to ogle.

Stepping closer I looked at the bruise, careful not to touch too hard.

“It is not bleeding but you are going to have a hell of a bump.” I smiled apologetic.

He unclasped his cloak and swung it off his shoulder with a sticky sound, looking back at me. I was staring again. Gathering the pile of his clothing I started moving about finding places to hang it, keeping myself occupied. His cloak proved a challenge because it was large and rather heavily woven. I ended up hanging it at the opening to the den shutting the world out.

When I returned I noticed Marid’s boots next to mine. It looked a bit comically but also very sweet. Two pair of boots sitting in the firelight. He was sitting in his brown trousers and the long sleeved shirt, the golden bands on his sleeves and front glittered in the fire as he was cleaning the fish. His belt with the round caps with swirly sun decorations on it was piled on the floor next too him, along with the red and golden rimmed loin cloth, that fortunately for my sanity was a decorative piece he wore _over_ his tunic and trousers.

I plopped down next to the fire as Marid stuck a stick into the mouth of a fish and handed it to me. I held it in over the fire, feeling how hungry I was getting.

“You care to tell me what happened?” he said continuing to clean the next fish.

“Happened?” My brain had already nested into the idea that living at the shore of a river, under a tree and eating fish was how it had always been.

“Why did the man throw you in the river?” he spoke slowly and clearly as if I was the one who had hit my head.

“Oh!” I blinked getting up to date. Marid had not been there. He had probably left the leaders house as soon as he realized I was no longer with him but he still had missed the priests fine farewell speech. “Erhm, as soon as the door slammed I was surrounded by eight men who tied me up and the largest of them – the priest – carried me to the river to toss me in. He said _all women are witches until the_ _oppo_ _s_ _ite_ _is proved_.” I mimicked his deep, grave tone. “Did you notice there were no women in the village?”

“No…”

“Only men,” I informed him. “I guess the river must be full of dead women here.” I shivered. “I tried to argue but he was adamant that I had nothing to fear if I was not a witch and it was his duty to drown me because he was the village priest.”

“So you had not done anything?”

“No,” I shrugged. “Nothing beside being a woman.” I added pointedly.

“I wonder why they would do so…” Marid mused handing me the next fish.

“Oh, he said that the problems with undead and demons in this region is caused by witches.”

“It is caused by the necromancers from Khetar,” Marid explained.

“Good, let’s go and fish his head out the pond and tell him that.” I added sarcastically turning the fish over the fire.

“Are you okay?”

“No-no! I am fine. I mean I just walked straight into a village full of male chauvinists, who think all women are witches and should die whether they are innocent or not.” I rambled.

“Signe-”

“Oh and by the way,” I looked straight at Marid. “The priest told me they had no problems with you and you would have gotten the provisions you wanted and be free to go. Guess it must be swell having your reproduction organs hanging charmless on the outside.” I swallowed thickly sensing how close I was to cry but Marid already thought me weak so I fought hard not to.

The only thing heard was the rain outside and the crackling of fire inside. I turned the fish a couple more times, sniffing a little, I could always excuse me with being cold and wet, when Marid’s hand closed around mine and squeezed it.

“I am sorry.”

“Why?” It was useless when people were sorry, such a silly sentiment.

“For calling you defenseless,” he talked calmly being done with cleaning fish he started cooking two on his own.

“I am…” I snorted rolling my eyes.

“Being assaulted by eight men, tied and tossed in a river, and yet survive is no easy feat.”

“I only survived because of _you_ ,” I pouted.

“The way I see it I clearly had all the advantages. Perhaps it is easier to see women as weak than to admit they have the most challenges in life. Challenges mainly made by men.”

I was gawking at him again. He truly was eloquent. There seemed to be a lot of thoughts going on behind those gray eyes. Reflection he did not always express. Perhaps he might fear people considered him weak for thinking deeply or maybe he had just learned to keep quite because no one cared. I reflected on our conversation, how he had thrown himself into the river without a second thought, like a hero saving a damsel in distress. I felt how my cheeks grew warm and smiled a little. My smile stiffened.

“You chopped off a priest’s head without even knowing if I had done something bad?”

Marid’s eyes darted across the den and then back to me.

“I did not know he was a priest…”

I looked at him for a while and started laughing. This was crazy. I did not know if I felt safe around Marid or if I was terrified of him. I did not know if he was insane or maybe... Maybe I was already such an integrated part of the group that they would kill anyone that harmed me no matter what I had done. Merida had just let me right in. Marid did not say a word but just took it upon him to feed me like he did his sister and friend. And Tyri… Well, Tyri was Tyri.

I started picking the first fish apart, it was well cooked and the meat easily came off the bones in large chunks. I stuck the chunk in my mouth and moaned. It was so good, and fat. Sucking my fingers I picked out another bite.

“Here,” I held the piece towards Marid.

“I have my own.”

Both my fish would be done long before his and I was stubborn.

“It is really good,” I said casually and pushed the piece to Marid’s mouth. He reluctantly took it to avoid spilling fish down his shirt.

“Mmm,” was his reply.

He was used to a hyperactive little sister, so I thought I could push my luck a little and continued to give him every second bite. It was not as if I was evil.

He leaned in and took another bite, just as starved as I. His lips closed around my fingers and I giggled like and idiot pulling my hand back. Feeling warmth creep up my cheeks again.

By the time we had shared the first fish the others were already done. The mood had improved. Our clothing slowly dried and our bellies got full. I leaned back on the floor and held both hands to my stomach when I had finished the second fish.

“That was delicious,” the fatty fish made my lips greasy and my mood giddy. I licked my lips and smacked them.

“There is more,” Marid offered.

“No thank you, I am full.”

I started to drift off but as I did the cold came seeping through the ground and I started freezing having to constantly turn to keep every side of me warm with the fire.

“ _Hey_! Come here…” Marid’s voice was a clear whisper in the den.

I looked at him and he clapped his thigh. My heart started racing and I was staring at him. He stretched out his arms, coaxing me to come to him but all I could do was look. The blood thundering in my ears making it hard to hear his next words.

“I will not harm you,” his gray eyes narrowing slightly.

Oh, it was not harm that I feared but my own self control and hyper active imagination. I swallowed thickly and slowly moved closer, looking like a scared animal to him.

“It is okay,” he soothed me, taking my hands in his, guiding me closer.

I plopped down in front of him, my legs denying to carry me any further and my heart hammering so I thought I would die. I dared not to look at him but I could hear him smile as he hushed me and pulled me up on his lap.

I sat stiff. My brain did not work. Everything was overloaded and the smell of his skin made me dizzy. Marid closed his arms around me and the weight of them toppled me over against his chest.

“I can hear your heartbeat,” he whispered with a hoarse voice and it did nothing to help it slow. “Don’t be afraid.”

To my horror he began rocking me a little and the worst part was that it helped. My stiff muscles softened and as I turned to jelly my contact to his chest grew larger, I could feel his warmth seep through my clothing, his heartbeat slow and calming, my eyelids started feeling heavy. My head came to rest at his shoulder when he leaned back against a tree root. “Sleep.”


	7. Returning

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. The constant white noise of rain had gone. I sat up in a warm wrapping, my head resting against a pillow of soft sunshine. So peaceful and warm. Slowly my body started aching. My muscles were sore and my ankles and wrists burned. Memories of yesterday started flooding my mind and I buried my head in the soft warmth to try and return to the bliss I had come from. I stiffened when someone groaned. My cocoon shifted slightly and became quiet again. Looking up I saw a throat and on top, a chin. Marid was sitting up straight. His head had dropped back on the root behind him. More movement made me realize he was waking too and I kept still not sure how to react. I was sitting on his lap, huddled in his arms, feeling toasty and safe and it made me blush fervently. Marid stiffened – he had discovered me.

Clearing his throat he grabbed me bridal style and put me aside hurrying out the den. I sat for a moment feeling confused. Did I smell that bad? Shame washed in over me for having enjoyed myself and sadness now that he had gone. Then slowly an afterthought occurred to me about male anatomy and I blushed even fiercer – _morning glory_. I snorted and tried not to giggle. I gave Marid a good ten minutes, where I got dressed, before I went outside really needing a pee. Upon returning he had dressed and seemed less flustered.

“Good morning,” he said with a low voice.

I smiled at him still not trusting I would not burst out laughing if I opened my mouth.

“Is your cloak dry?” I asked casually, remembering how huge and thick it was and those two adjectives made me snicker like a school girl. I really had to pull myself together.

“Yes,” he added sheathing his scimitar. “Let’s see if we can find Merida and Tyri today, shall we.”

I nodded still feeling giddy.

We shared the last fish. It did not taste as good as it had done last night but it was better than nothing. As we left the cozy den I remembered what Marid had done yesterday.

“Marid,” I hesitated and he stopped in the opening looking at me. “Uhm, I guess I never said thank you for saving me.”

“Any time…” His grip on the hilt of his scimitar hardened.

I felt I should say something more but Marid turned and left and I hurried after him.

We walked back along the river. It took half the day to walk back to the village. Being on the other side of the stream made it hard for the villagers to get to us but I still felt uneasy, even when Marid lead us past in a circle, keeping us behind rocks and large fountain grass. We did however see no one. The village seemed deserted except for the smoke rising from the chimneys. Perhaps the men only lived whenever a woman came along – would not be a new thing…

Going back to where our previous camp had been, we found our bags under the mangrove tree hidden with rocks. Merida’s and Tyri’s bags were gone, so they had returned, waited and-

“You don’t think they went to the village, do you?” I looked alarmed at Marid who was searching the ground.

“I highly doubt it…”

“But…” My eyes widened by the thought of Merida and Tyri drowned, so lost in thought that I jumped when Marid placed his hand on my shoulder.

“The village was still there, it would have been burned to the ground if the villagers had tried the same with my sister and Merida as they did you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Merida is a force of nature and my sister is too fast,” he assured me. “Beside,” he pointed to some sticks on the ground. “Tyri has left a clue, leading away from the village.”

I could not really make anything out of the pile on the ground other than _sticks – classification: part of nature_.

“We used to leave these marks all the time when we were younger.”

I tried imagining Marid younger but could not and I still thought Tyri to be quite youthful.

“What? You went on adventures together when Tyri was still in diaper?”

“Father brought her along when he once in a while came to visit.”

“Wait, where were you, if Tyri was with your father?”

Marid started walking and I had to jog to keep up.

“With my mother in Leothasa.”

“Your parents are divorced? And your father got Tyri?” I was so confused now.

“Tyri and I are only half-siblings.”

“That explains a lot,” I mumbled.

“My parents was never married…”

“Ohh…” I wondered how socially acceptable that was here in Krystara. Personally I did not have a problem but it made me wonder if Marid was merely a _happy, little accident_ or perhaps his mother was a prostitute.

“So you are not from the same country?”

“I doubt it but I know very little about Tyri’s mother. I don’t know if she is still alive.”

“And yours?” I asked carefully.

He did not answer.

By the time it had gotten dark I was limping. My left ankle was stinging, I was worn out, and although it seemed Merida and Tyri had found an almost dry path through the marsh my boots were still soaked.

“Marid, we have to stop. There is no way we will catch up with them today,” I bent over resting my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. “At least not while I hitch along…” I muttered under my breath.

I looked up and he was gone.

“Damn…” I slumped on a treeroot. Loosening the laces on my left boot and pulled it off with a hiss. My sock had slipped down to my toes and my ankle was swollen and red. Puss pushed through the bruises the rope had given me. I sighed taking off my backpack and looking for the first aid kit. I began rinsing my ankle and shuddered when the skin just gave in from the touch of the cleaning napkin and fell off.

“Fuck…” Bruises, chafing, and swampy waters did not go well together.

“Signe, please keep up. We do not have far-” Marid seemingly popped up out of nowhere and I only sent him an annoyed side glare.

“Yeah, those ropes were not so fun.” I had given up cleaning and just tried to stop the bleeding as the skin now had broke but the small napkin simply was not enough.

Marid had some bandages he offered me and with a little effort I got the bleeding strangled.

“How far?” I asked, while cleaning up the mess I had made.

“Just past the next hill.”  
I got up, put my backpack on, grabbed my boot and started walking.

“You want me to help carry your bag?” Marid offered but I had once again remembered how he thought me helpless and got stubborn.

“Signe…”

“Just keep up,” I bitched him.

“You are bleeding through,” he tried slowing me down with a hand on my arm but I shrugged him off.

“As a woman I am used to that.”

He had stopped but I kept marching along. I had no doubt when I reached the place we were to camp. It was pretty much the only dry place for miles. It was tucked away in between hills, giving good shelter and hiding the light from our fire from strangers. I dropped my backpack and boot and at once began gathering firewood, noticing someone had already hidden a nice stack away not far from the camp site.

“They have thought of us,” Marid said as he pulled out a bag under some stones.

“Yeah, there were firewood stacked up a plenty just over there.”

The bag had some dry meat and fruit. It had to be some of the last we had left since we did not get any provisions in the village. It was easy to start a fire because the wood was dry and we did not have to wait for our food to cook. It gave us plenty of time to rest.

Marid left for about half an hour and I wondered if he was still hungry and what he had in mind to eat out here. The only life I had seen was a leech that optimistically had tried to slurp me when I stepped into a waterhole.

It was however not animals but plants he returned with and I lazily watched him from under heavy eyelids as he heated up water and as far as I could make out, made a cup of tea. I was watching the fire burning low, wrapped up in my sleeping bag when Marid crouched in front of me. I shut one eye and squeezed the other half shut as I looked at him trying to figure out what he wanted. I sure as hell hoped he did not intend for us to keep walking because I was pooped.

“Give me your ankle,” he commanded and my brain thought it the weirdest request in the world. I had heard of giving someone a hand but not an ankle.

As my mind cleared from the grogginess I sat up and stretched out my left foot. It had bled through, a lot . Marid started washing my foot in warm water, removing the mud and flaky cakes of blood. It occurred to me I ought to have done so myself but I was tired and the warm water made me feel relaxed. His hands rubbing the soreness out of my foot  made me melt.  Removing the bandages he continued clean ing my lower leg but this part was less pleasant due to the inflammation. I grind my teeth and laid down flat on my back trying to focus on the good things; we were alive, I was not alone, someone cared, my  wound would be cleaned now and I would not loose  a foot. All good things.

I sat up again when he lowered my foot into his lap, picking up the cup of  _ tea _ that turned out to be a rotten-green paste.

“ What did you use to clean it with?” He inquired and I looked down on the torn mess around my ankle.

“ Alcohol based cleaning wipes.”

He looked surprised at me. Guess they did not have that kind of stuff in Krystara.

“Alcohol is too strong for this kind of injury,” he  tutored me and dipped two fingers in the cup of rot. “ This is not the best either but until we get to more fertile lands it will have to do.” He smeared the thick paste over the bruise and it slowly, very slowly began stinging and go warm.  Noticing my growing discomfort he added. “It will soon go numb.”

Numb unfortunately did not occur before scorching hot, and I was back flat on the ground, grinding my teeth, trying to focus on breathing regularly, while Marid bandaged it.  He held my foot in both hands, pressed his thumbs against my sole running them up the middle and along the edge at my toes.

“Does it help?” he asked.

“Mmmm,” I was still in pain but could not deny that a foot massage was good no matter what.

The pain decreased as Marid slowly rubbed the sole of my foot, down around my heal,  boring his fingers in deep into my worn out bones, and up my calf, carefully avoiding the bandaged area.  Eventually I was reduced to a puddle of bliss and then he stopped.  I stuck out my lip and was about to whimper a little pathetic when he began working the laces on my other boot.

“I better check your other ankle as well,” he stated making it sound all professional, however I had never met a physician out of the field of erotic who had such a soft handling, pulling my boot of slowly, slipping a finger up my shin quite further than needed to get hold of my sock.  He poked o ne finger in behind the elastic band sliding the textile down to my heel, running the tip of his finger along the elastic  tickling my skin , to pull it over  the heel and the rest of the way off.

“That looks good,” this time his voice was more husky and I lifted my head to look at my ankle, not daring to look at Marid, since my thoughts were far too dirty and if he did not feel the same way, not only embarrassing myself but also hitting the cold wall of rejection. I still had a perfect anklet of bruises but my skin had not gone red and the stinging only came from touch, as when Marid started washing my foot.

“ Better make sure…” he mumbled and I dropped my head enjoying that he bothered smothering me like that, whether he meant something other with it than  caring for my health or not.

In the end I had both feet in his lap. We both sat and enjoyed the fire,  my feet warm and happy from the care they had been giving.

“ Are you cold?” Marid interrupted the silence.

“No,” I said without thinking.

“Good,” he replied but did not sound very convincing.

I looked up at him, he was staring into the fire with his cold, narrow eyes. He had quite a big nose, looking rather noble with a gently sloped philtrum. His lips were full, his cupid bow marked, high cheekbones but the lines under his eyes and hollowed cheeks spoke of a hard life and not one of luxury.

“ But it might get chilly later,” I added wrapping my arms around myself, turning to lay on my sleeping bag.

Marid slipped down behind me and covered us both with his blanket putting one arm under my head and the other around me.

“ I better keep you warm,” he explained.

I smiled.


	8. First Kill

Waking the next morning I stretched and yawned. I was bundled up in warmth and felt quite good. Sitting up I saw Marid was already up and about. It was daylight.

“What time is it?” I asked groggily blowing away a loose strand of hair from my face.

“Forenoon,” he replied and handed me what was left of the dried food.

“ Why didn’t you wake me?” I started sho veling  food into my mouth, while brushing my hair.

“How is you ankle?”

“It is just a scratch, no reason to keep me bedridden,” I looked at my ankle, the swelling had gone down, making the bandages dangle around my foot. Making a ponytail, I began tightening the bandages. It had formed crust, a mix of blood and the paste Marid had applied, my skin was no longer as red, and it only hurt if I touched it. Pulling the laces out the top of my left boot I left the top half open, so my injury was free and would not chafe. “We are going to catch up with Merida and your sister, right?”

“Not if you loose a foot halfway,” Marid added.

I felt a nervous pinch in the back of my neck. Surely my ankle was not that bad. My doubt must have shown because Marid crouched in front of me.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” his voice soft.

“ That’s not fair…” I mumbled. “ I bet you and the others get hurt all the time and no one p uts you in bubble wrap, erhm, cotton  wool ,”  I wrapped my arms over my chest and pouted not meeting his eyes.

“We are used to it,” he  patronized me .

“I am not a porcelain doll!” I defended looking at him since the anger he could make me feel made me  braver .

“ I did not say that.”

“No, but you insinuate it at every chance you get!”

“ I did not know caring about your safety was considered an offense.”

“You are not  _ caring _ you are suffocating me in self doubt, bringing me down, constantly focusing  on everything I fail at, everything I do wrong. Would it hurt with a bit of positive reinforcement for a change?” I had gotten up and was looking down at him.

“Like Merida?” His words were spit like poison and the look in his eyes, a s he got up and once more towered, over me could have killed.  He took his blanket  from my shoulders and turned his back  on me.

My thoughts were racing. What was it Merida did that he disliked? He was so sweet last night and now he was just… Weird. I rolled up my sleeping bag taking some deep breaths. Despite our argument I did feel better today. Not so heavy, my mind clearer.  I reminded myself to thank him for his ointment when he had cooled down a bit.  It always helped when Merida took Tyri away  for a while after they had had a b ig fight so I tried my best at giving him space and a chance to breath.

We started our walk and as the day turned towards evening I noticed a thin stripe of smoke in the distance. It could be Merida and Tyri. Surely they did not hurry ahead when they knew we were trying to catch up?

Marid and I had not really spoken to each other all day. Whenever he demanded we rest, I agreed, whenever he said go, I went, letting him set the pace, me being compliant. I was depending on him. It was true I would die without him and the others, not that it meant I could not handle anything but right now it was more important to stay together than prove a point.

I was ready to walk straight up to the campfire but Marid grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

“Hey! Come here!” he whispered with a hiss,  pulling me in next to him. As I looked at him he pressed a finger to his lips and signaled me to follow. Going around the camp we reached a gathering of rocks and I followed Marid up the rough climb being pulled down flat on my stomach as I reached the top.  Marid’s hand rested on my back, pressing me down as he carefully lifted himself up to look over the rock.  Coming down he turned his head and looked at me.

“What do you see?” His hand eased on my back and I peeked over the stone, down into the camp, retracting fast with a growing smile.

“It is Merida and Tyri,” I smiled to him but he remained serious.

“Yes, but it could might as well have been raiders or something else undesirable.”

My smile faded and I felt a chill down my spine. I would have walked right into the camp, expecting friends and comfort. A warm hand took hold of my upper arm and began rubbing it with a thumb.

“You can never be too careful,” he murmured and I nodded and look into his eyes.

For some reason he did not move. I waited for him to take the lead but he stayed there, looking at me while caressing my arm. Warmth began creeping into my cheeks. I looked at his face. His gray eyes not narrow and cold as earlier, seeming darker in the dying light. My heart began picking up speed and my eyes followed his nose down to his lips. Full. He had a lip bead that constantly made me wonder how soft his lips would be and it made it hard to breath, mostly because his lips seemed to come slowly closer. The corners twisted upwards in the slightest smile giving him a brash look that gave me goosebumps.

A shrill scream split the moment in half, an explosion followed and mixed in was Merida’s battle cry.

“Goblins!” Marid sneered and was already on his feet, standing tall above the battle below. I lifted myself up on shaking arms and peeked down. The explosion had been caused by a goblin on a rocket, launching itself into the middle of the camp sending fire everywhere. On the outskirt of it all was a goblin, in red cloth s and a staff, chanting, and the ground was alive with a sword wielding green mass.  Marid  drew his scimitar and threw himself off the cliff, into the chaos  below , slicing a handful of the goblins in half.

“Marid!” I heard Tyri exclaim joyfully. “Come to join the fun?”

“ I don’t like your idea of fun, sister.”

“ Don’t be a spoil sport,  brother !”

I swallowed thickly feeling useless but I had no idea how to do anything without causing troubles.  I knew if they saw me the y would charge and I could not defend myself  against so many, I did not even think I could manage one goblin.  At that moment something grabbed my bad ankle, I yelped as I was pulled down from the rock, scraping my hands and chin as I went.  As I landed I came face to face with a huge green goblin. Its skin was perforated several places by huge red b oils , its yellow eyes stared at me and the mouth formed an evil grin.  It took hold of me again and lifted me up towards its open mouth, something kicked in in my brain and my hand found Marid’s dagger in my pocket, unsheathing it. I could smell the foul stench of the creatures breath and swung the blade. With a howling roar I was dropped, hot, blue liquid dripped down around me as the goblin swung its head about in pain, a gaping cut elongating the already huge mouth.  Its yellow eyes found me again, now filled with  hatred , lifting a foot above me I threw myself to the side avoiding a crushing death, landing between its legs. I stabbed the dagger into the bulbous calf and caused the creature to wobble about. I hacked the blade through its foot, twisting it, watching with mesmerized horror as blue blood bubbled forth.  I was hit with the back of a meaty hand, sending me rolling. When I got up I had lost the dagger, seeing the huge form limping towards me, my eyes scanned the ground and found the blade between us. Despite my body protesting from pain I got up and halfway ran on all four, since my ankle did not want to comply.  The bulky form bent down, a hand stretched out to grab me, mouth open, drool and blood running down its chin and stomach. My fumbling hands got hold of the dagger and I hammered the blade down from as high as I could reach, feeling how it hit something hard, slipping, and then finding an entrance. I pressed as hard as I could, the blade sinking deep with a sickening feeling.  A spasm jerked the blade out of my hand and I fell back on the ground I had not noticed I had left. The air being beaten out of my lungs. Gasping for breath like a fish on land I felt the ground shake as the goblin collapsed and became quiet. I could not move, everything hurt. I was petrified with fear, wanting to cry but too scared to do so.  I just wanted everything to stop.  The sound of goblin shrills, and roars of anger could be heard from the camp  but it seemed to belong to another world.


	9. Merida

I opened my eyes slowly. It was dark, the sound of a fire crackling, and low voices mixed. For a moment I did not know where I was, then the memory of the huge goblin hit me and I sat up straight.

“Easy,” I heard Merida’s voice and felt her hands on my shoulders, pulling me down.

“Merida,” I croaked.

I was lying with my head in her lap. A wave of dizziness washed over me.  I felt warm and had an unreal sensation.

“You have a fever,” Merida elaborated, seemingly understanding my confusion. “Your ankle…”

I closed my eyes as I remembered that stupid injury  and how the goblin had had to grab exactly  _ that _ ankle as if it just knew how much damage it could cause.

“ Marid? Tyri?” I cleared my throat.

“They are both fine…” Merida lifted my head a little and pressed a water skin to my lips. I took one big gulp feeling how my throat soaked up and made me feel better.

I looked up at Merida. She had a bruised lip, and a bluish mark was blooming on her chin. She smiled. I smiled back feeling how dry my lips were.

“Pretty nice taking down a high king as your first kill,” her smile spread to her eyes and she showed her teeth.

“What?”

“Gee, she can’t even remember,” I heard Tyri somewhere from the darkness.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We hoped you could tell us. We were pretty busy fighting a swarm of Goblins here in camp, so we were quite surprised to find you way over there, unconscious, with a Goblin king with a dagger in its brain.”

“I… It pulled me down,” I started to explain what had happened as I could remember.

“Quite a feat despite you being lucky,” Merida stated impressed. “And then with an injured ankle on top of it.”

I started feeling better about what had happened. Surely I could not be completely useless if I had slain a Goblin king single-handedly. That had to mean there was hope I might learn to take care of myself one day. I turned my head and looked the camp over. I knew Tyri was there but where was Marid? Maybe he was out hunting. Tyri was sitting by the fire sharpening her blades, she smiled wickedly to me when we made eye contact, and right next to her sat Marid, staring into the fire. My smile faded. Why did he not say anything? I had slain a Goblin king, should he not be impressed? His face was neutral and his gray eyes narrow, looking as he always had, as if nothing had happened with our relationship at all. No bonding. Just back to basic caring but not friends. I shrank and turned my head back to Merida’s stomach.

“Drink some more,” she said in a low voice. “Could be good if you could eat something too.”

I took a bite of the meat she gave me. It tasted like something Marid had caught and prepared and it made it hard to swallow.

The next day, my fever had gone down. My ankle was still a mess but at least it was under treatment. I was black and blue all over from the slap the Goblin King had given me,  plus the clumsy rolls and falls  I had performed but what hurt the most was Marid ignoring me. Not clinically, he would reply if I spoke to him, but it was only  clipped answers and he did not look at me while he did.  I had looked to Merida even Tyri to see if any of them had noticed how cold Marid was but both of them seemed unaffected.

We were headed for a place called Khetar. I remembered Marid telling me that was where the necromancers, that caused trouble in this land, came from. Merida was adamant about lifting the curse of these lands, helping the people, and perhaps it would solve the problem with women getting drowned for witchcraft.

The weather brightened along the day, a few glimpse of the sun tore through the heavy clouds. The ground also got dryer and the vegetation more varied. Birds began chirping and now and then something large rustled through the bushes away from us.

I noticed on several occasions that Marid was looking at me. Every time I looked at him, he was always turning his head away from me. It drove me mad and I sighed heavily, feeling a bit of anger slowing me down forcing him to walk past me, and as he did I kept the same pace as him.

“What’s up?” I asked trying to sound happy and unaffected by his silent treatment.

“Need anything?”

“Maybe an explanation why you are ignoring me,” I mumbled so the others would not hear me.

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

He did not reply, not catching the bait that I hoped would keep him talking.

“If I have done anything to upset you, I really don’t know what it is,” I said earnestly.

Marid turned off, walking right in front of me giving me a hard shoulder as he passed and disappeared off into the bushes.

I had no idea how to interpret this. So I clearly had done something wrong? But he would not talk about it. Swell.

“Where’s Marid off to?” Merida had stopped and looked at me.

“Beats me,” I shrugged.

“I hope he is hunting something really juicy,” Tyri smiled like a shark.

“Yeah, that is probably it…” I mumbled and started walking again.

Merida fell in next to me.

“Tired?”

“I guess,” not physically but mentally.

“Here,” Merida gave me her hand and pulled me along. Her support helped.

We small talked the rest of the day, mainly about fighting techniques but also silly stories from our pasts. Tyri joined in later, drawn to us by our laughter and snickering. She did not add anything, although I would have died for an embarrassing story about Marid just about now. I bet she had some but she seemed quite loyal to her brother.

We stopped when the sun began setting. I gathered wood with Merida, who still saw it as her task to cheer me up. I had not seen Marid all day and even though he hurt me I was beginning to get worried.

“You still seem troubled,” Merida noted.

“I am just worried about Marid…” I said without thinking.

“He can take care of himself.”

“What if he has left,” that was what worried me the deepest. Not seeing him again.

“He is a rogue, but I highly doubt he just leave without saying goodbye to at least Tyri.” Merida picked up another branch. “Is there any particularly reason you fear he might have left?”

It was a fair question but not one that I really had the guts to answer.

“He just seemed... Upset.” I looked at Merida and gave up hiding my worries and hurt.

“Hey,” she put down the firewood and pulled me in for an embrace. Hugging me tight, I wondered how I ever had survived without a friend like her. “Hush.”

The last word made my defenses crumble and I began crying, pressing my face into her neck.

“There has happened a lot lately,” Merida soothed. “It is okay to feel overwhelmed.” She rubbed my back and I drew a deep breath. Even when all else failed I knew Merida would be there for me.

Time seemed to stop inside the small bubble of comfort Merida created for me, making me feel safe and free to wordlessly express my pain. We stood for a while just holding on to each other.

“Ah, Marid,” Merida said with a smile in her voice.

I stiffened. For a split second I considered looking at him but then I remembered I had tear swollen eyes and I would not want to seem weak nor give him the pleasure of seeing how much he had hurt me, so I stayed where I was.

“That looks tasty.” Merida commented. “We’ll be right back making a fire. Just give us a moment.”

I did not hear anything, only silence but eventually Merida grabbed my shoulders and pulled me out to look at me.

“He is gone now. I don’t think he realized you were crying.” She smiled encouragingly. “Let’s get back with the firewood, because that deer Marid had caught looked tasty.” Her stomach gave a low rumble in reply and now that all the tears had gone out of the way I could feel how hungry I was too.

We walked back with each our armful of branches, twigs and dry leaves. Tyri quickly built a fire, while Merida and I unrolled our beds and made ourselves comfortable near the warmth and light.


	10. Burning Fury

It got warmer every day. Merida had told me Khetar was desert, barren, dry, and sandy. Quite the opposite of what I had gotten used too. The transition however was pleasant. Less mud made it easier to practice without it turning into mud wrestling, we were  _ clean _ for more then an hour at a time, and the menu started to include roots, vegetables, and berries. My ankle also appreciated the dryer climate healing up rapidly with more  medicinal plants to be found.  We started to get red cheeks and in general look healthier with the varied food.

I slowly began forming a day with Merida, since Marid had chosen to cut me off again. He had a hard time being the silent, brooding type with three women around. Merida seemed to have no respect for Marid’s mood and just treated him as usual and with Tyri on the other side driving his patience and nerves to the edge he began softening a little.

It was a warm night. The sands of Khetar stretched out in the horizon. We had stopped at the last green gathering of trees to enjoy the abundance nature could offer us. We had all gathered fruits, berries and roots as we had gone along and Marid had caught two pheasants. We were going to have a feast before entering the fasting dunes of Khetar. Spirits were high and even Marid seemed amused, sending me a rare, crooked smile, that made me feel giddy.

Merida entertained with a story about giant-hunting with a Dwarf named Keghammer. After we had eaten, Tyri pulled out a battered, tiny lute that seemed to miss a string or two and started tuning it.

“Is that Elwyn’s missing lute?” Merida looked harshly at her.

“He didn’t need it anyway,” she defended herself and stroke the strings.

Marid looked the other way and rolled his eyes. I laughed wondering how many of my possessions was in Tyri’s hands by now. But then again, if she wanted to carry my stuff fine by me I would just reclaim my belongings when I needed them.

Tyri started singing a song about a pirate. The missing strings did not discourage her and the fact she rarely sang the right note made it even better. The pirate was looking for love and rum. The rum he came by a plenty but he had his challenges with the other part. In one verse he got his hands on a fancy lady, dressed in finest silk, fur, and laces, with hats of feathers, veils and everything a man could want but although the pirate had given his best in bed, she had seemed rigid and cold. Waking the next day he realized his lady companion was a heavily occupied coat stand but that only made him happy since it meant it was not his lovemaking that had been lacking.

After several other verses like that Tyri ended the song and I was crying with laughter by her performance.

“Let me guess, father taught you that song…” Marid commented dryly and I looked at him, the small crinkles of amusement around his eyes, that I had seen the day I had lost my boot in the bog.

“No. But he surely was the inspiration for it,” Tyri replied making Marid facepalm and Merida and I laughing.

The next day we entered the desert. If possible it got even hotter, perhaps the sand reflecting the heat or maybe it was the thought of not finding cooling water for the next long span of time. We had filled everything we had with creek water and I hoped it was enough.

I was not good with heat and already after an hour walk I had a headache and my eyes and throat was burning. The sun slowly crept up over the sky and when it was at its highest I thought I would die.

“ Let’s rest,” I heard Merida say sounding as exhausted as I. One look at her told me she was suffering as badly as I. It made me feel better, although I did not have to walk in plate armor and chain mail. Finding a good place hidden between a large rock and a ruin we settled. There was no shade since the sun came from directly above.  The air was stagnant, the heat dancing in the horizon like waves of floating water and the silence pressed against my ears. Merida fell asleep nearly as soon as she sat down  and pulled her blanket over herself , Tyri ventured off to scout seemingly annoyed by the heat too and the break we had to take until the sun started to set, and Marid, who seemed to handle the heat without much suffering sat straight up against the rock and kept guard.

I tried to rest like Merida but the heat made me irritable and restless. I wanted shadow. I looked around and saw a slope down between the rocks a distance from our camp. Perhaps there there would be shade.  Getting up I started moving. It somehow felt better to move but soon I got too warm by it and it began irritating me as badly as sitting still.  Exploring the slope did not help much. The rocks were not close enough to build shade. I growled, hating the sun, almost wishing to go back to the wet, gray lands of male chauvinists where we had come from.

I kicked a rock and it did not get fare in the thick sand. Not even Summer did I like. It was too warm and the only mitigating circumstances about  the sand and  the sun of a beach, was the ocean and Khetar had no such thing.

“ Do not stray too far.”

I jumped and felt how my stressed out body did not like the unnecessary strain of shock. Marid had stepped out in front of me out of nowhere.

I looked at him annoyed. He did not  seem affected by the heat at all.

“ As if you care…” I breathed short of breath.

He paused for a moment.

“I do.”

“ Yeah right,” I muttered. “Why are you not sweating?” I could not keep my annoyance down. He was difficult and the scorching heat of Khetar did not make my mood better.

“I was born in the desert,” he said carefully.

“Why are you suddenly so talkative?” I supported myself against the rock but quickly withdrew my hand since the rock was burning.

He seemed to consider for a long time or perhaps it just felt that way when you burned in Hell.

“ I want to apologize. You were right, I was ignoring you.”

I looked at him not quite believing what I heard. Perhaps a Fata Morgana could make you hear things too…

“ Erhm, I don’t think I quite heard you right.” I rubbed my head. “The heat is really playing  m erry  h ell with me.”

“I have not treated you well and for that I apologize.”

“Okay, so I heard you right…”

“ Perhaps if you apologized too we could put this behind us…” Marid suggested  looking down on the ground as if he searched it .

“Apologize for what?”  This conversation did not go exactly as I had hoped for.

“ For your behavior,” he  guided me.

“Behavior?” I was thinking heavily but had nothing.

“ Offensive behavior,” he pushed along signaling how patient he was being right now.

“ Against who?” I started wondering if I had blackouts and had been going around  camp hurting my friends on body and soul without knowing it.

“ _ Me _ .” His voice began to get sterner.

“Can you give me an example?” My brain was running a marathon in a sauna at the moment trying to get to the bottom of this but it was fruitless.

“That evening in the forest…”

“In the forest… We have had quite some evenings in the forest but I don’t remember being mean to you…”

Marid turned his back on me muttering something under his breath that sounding like a foreign language.

“I walked in on you and Merida…” He turned back to me and looked mighty displeased.

It took awhile before I remembered.

“I was crying.” I admitted feeling weak for having told him.

“Really? It looked quite different to me.”

“What?” I tried figuring out how he could have interpret me hugging Merida as mean or offensive but failed. “I was _crying_.” I had hoped to harvest a bit of pity due to that confession but now I felt anger rising. “Because of _you_.”

“So now it is my fault?”

“ _What_ is your fault? What is it that’s going on? I haven’t got a clue.”

“Playing dumb is not an excuse…” He said sternly.

“An excuse for what?”

Marid looked away clearly hurt but why? I took a step closer, wanting to help him, comfort him, more than anything in the world. I placed my hand on his cheek and turned his head, looking into his gray eyes. As before it seemed that time stopped, my heart began racing. I felt a clear connection, how could he not?

His hand found mine and lingered over it before pulling me away from him.

“You just don’t know when to stop…” He whispered.

“I don’t want it to stop.” I hoped we were talking about the same but seeing how his eyes narrowed with such hatred made me realize I once again had stepped in it.

“What is wrong with you?” His disbelieve made me defensive.

“What is wrong with _you_?”

“I have feelings,” he seemed awkward admitting this. “You can’t just…” He trailed off, a look of disbelief played over his features. I started to get angry again. I was missing a clue and Marid was not about to give it to me for some sadistic reason.

“What? What Marid!?” Frustration made my voice rise.

He looked at me intensely, his eyes were glassy and haunted. For a second I thought he would reach out to me, connect, but instead he turned on his heel and walked off.

Something exploded in me. A turmoil of emotions boiling. The torture of being this close and yet denied. Him playing with me. Toying with my emotions and then daring to claim I was the one who hurt him.

“How dare you walk away!” I shouted. “You…” my rage was building up, blinding me to anything else but Marid’s form walking away. Desperation cut the bond of all my restraints, letting care slip away and only left one burning desire in me – to provoke an emotional respond from him. I fought hard to prevent it. My last shred of rational thinking clawing on to the words forming on my tongue, knowing if I let them loose it would be the point of no return. “You…” I breathed exasperated, loosing the battle. “YOU SON OF A WHORE!!!” My voice echoed between the stones. All I could hear was my own breath, my ears felt stuffed with cushions, I did not see anything but the yellow sands and orange stone formations around me, fighting to breath, in this far too hot land.

He was in front of me. Had come out of nowhere. An anger equal to mine painted across his face. The shock of hearing my own voice uttering that which I had known to be unforgivingly cruel and now facing him made me speechless and weak.

“ _Yes_ ,” he hissed so close to my face I could feel his breath. “That is all I am.” He grabbed hold of my shirt and pulled me up to his face. “Not a hero like Merida.”

I felt confusion crawl in on me again by the mention of Merida. I was fighting on tip toes to not end up dangling from the iron grip that held me suspended. I had closed one hand around Marid’s trying to pry it open, the other one ready to defend myself.

“Let go of me!” I sneered.

“I will,” he whispered with such controlled anger it gave me goose bump. “Then you can return to roll in the mud with your hero. Whatever perverted pleasure you could derive from doing so in front of me you will have to find _elsewhere_ ,” at the last word he pushed me and let go. I hit the ground with a thud, knocking myself senseless, as I went down on my rear and fell backwards hitting the back of my head to the ground.

I felt weak, melting, thoughts floating around my head. Me in the mud with Merida on top of me. Marid in the background, subdued and bitter. The moment on top of the rock before the goblins attacked. Marid leaving me. I nearly got killed. Resting with my head in Merida’s lap. Marid too ashamed to look at me. The hug in the forest, Merida comforting me. Marid walking in on our intimate moment and Merida’s reassuring words, sounding horrifyingly alarming in my head:

_“_ _I don’t think he realized you were crying.”_

I sat up straight, dizziness washing in over me, my head throbbing. If he did not know I had been crying, and that was why Merida had held me, what had he then concluded? That we were _snogging_?

I shook my head feeling my eyes rolling a bit uncontrollably. A son of a whore versus the greatest hero in Krystara. He was _jealous_. That was why he acted so weird whenever Merida was around. He thought he could not compete with her. He thought I would choose _her_ over _him_. He had decided how I felt without letting me decide myself. I felt how my grogginess gave way for my anger. If I had been pissed off before, it was nothing compared to the wave of hatred that washed in over me now. How that _ass_ had complicated and ruined _everything_.

My eyes found the retreating form of Marid already far off going away from the camp. I looked at him walk away, my mind overloading with anger. He thought me cheap, faithless, a liar. A girl who would play with the hearts of people just for her own pleasure – _perverted pleasure_. I was going to bring him down. I did not care if it would cause me a sunstroke or I died. No way he was just going to walk off like the idiot he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is NOT going to be for children. Be warned. If you are underage or sensitive to intimacy and dirty language/implications _do_not_continue_.


	11. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another warning. This is a very naughty chapter. NSFW and all that.

My legs had start moving before I knew it. I was picking up speed. When I was two meter from him he turned to block me but he had not expected me using a sliding tackle on him. His hand swung out back to grab me but I had already thrown my self on the ground, sliding the last bit of way, locking both my feet to his ankles, preparing for the impact, as he fell towards me, eyes wide, arms stretched out to cushion the fall. I rolled but he had already adapted to my technique and was fast after me. He tried getting hold of my arms and bring me down on my stomach like Merida had done during the _infamous tickle-fight_ but being a friend she had shown me several moves to get out from such a grip if implied timely and my elbow did succeed at hitting Marid, unfortunately closer to his chest than stomach. However it still made him loose his hold on me and I rolled as a crazed crocodile. Stopping when I felt he was profoundly confused and maybe a bit dizzy as well, and I was on top. I had the upper hand now, sitting on him, pinning him down. Except I was the wrong way around. Straddling him, facing his feet. I swung my leg up to turn, trying to put as much force into it so that if he was dumb enough to sit up I would kick him in the head, but my attempt died before it could mount to anything, by him grabbing hold of my hips and slamming me back down on him. His fingers bore into my flesh sinking deep and securing me in this ridiculous position. I resorted to my last move and aimed for his private parts but as I soon discovered, in more than one way, I was straddled over his abdomen. I wriggled and clawed at his hands but froze as I could feel a lump forming between my legs.

Everything went quiet, only our strained breaths could be heard, while I contemplated what to do now and he did whatever it was he was doing. I had no idea. Like I had no idea why he had been so weird.  Now I knew:  Merida had rolled around in the mud with me, pinning me down, laying between my legs.  I started to relax a little, the worst of my anger out of my system and the fact I had  now rolled around with Marid, was pinned down, and had him between my legs meant he had gotten what he wanted. The only difference –  sand instead of mud .

“ There’s nothing going on between Merida and me beside friendship,” I panted. “ You idiot.” I added.

His hands drifted down my hips to my thighs, rubbing them gently before squeezing them tight. I could feel his lump twitch under me as he did. I remained still closing my eyes, trying  to catch a hint from his breath, or a feeling of his eyes on my back but he was all quiet and  motionless except his hands and-

My thoughts got cut short when his hands caressed my thighs again, fingertips sliding down the inside, grabbing the soft flesh tight forcing me to breath out in a huff, making me sway  as a wave of pleasure washed over m e . His thumbs stretch ing backwards closing in on me like a pincer movement, made me stiffen again and choke on my breath.  He slowly rubbed my caught flesh between his thumbs, fast finding the exact spot he was looking for, navigating after my labored breathing. Pushing his thumbs down I  pressed my hips into his fingers, feeling how his grip tightened and forcing a cry from me  under the strain .

Panting from his hard grip I fell forward and supported myself with my hands on his legs, breathing in wheezing gasp of air, letting go with a whimper I forced myself to relax  and as I did, so did he. His member twitching desirabl e under me  as I submitted to him , his thumbs finding their way back to my center.  I kept absolutely still, dropping my head and biting my lip as he began rubbing me again.  Warmth crept into my cheeks as my bud began swelling under his administration.  Exploring me, finding the exact tempo, movement, and pressure to apply to get me to  purr from his touch.  As long as I complied he would give  me all the pleasure I wanted. It was bittersweet. The pleasure mixed with my new found hatred of him for being such a dick about his feelings toward me.  If I could erase the last week from my mind this would be perfect.

Pinching my clit between his thumbs got me to focus on the present, and as he began torturing me with the fingernail of one thumb, all thoughts seemed to leave my mind only sending pulsating pleasure through my  body . I could not help to wriggle, feeling my muscle tighten in my core as my body contracted before the explosion ahead.  He did not stop, he did not bore his fingers into my flesh bruising me, lifting only his right leg forcing me into upright position, grinding him in the process. I took hold of his thigh behind his knee and pressed myself  into his thumbs. The extra pressure on my clit and the rubbing feeling of his erection against my  rear broke my bubble of pleasure and released it into my body. I cried out as the built up tension exploded between his thumbs.

“Marid, please.  _ Marid _ ,” I dug my nails into his leg pressing his thigh against my chest feeling how the world slowly returned around me, thoughts flying about my head incoherently, hugging his bent knee tight as if my life depended on it.  My hips spasm against  him . He was circling intricate patterns on my thighs and hips, making me relax again. My arms weakly fell on each side, my head resting on his knee.

With a small nudge of his leg I fell backwards with a surprised sound. Falling flat on his chest.  He close his arms around me and held me tight for a short moment. His cock twitching against my ass.  H e began moving,  leaving me on my back in the sand, the only thought I had was that he was going to fuck me now and I was not going to stop him.

Feeling limbless, lying on my back with my eyes closed, I smiled as he trailed his fingers down my body, taking hold of my hips again, kneading their softness. I opened my eyes and looked at him as he played with my roundness, seeming quite satisfied with what he had.  I closed my eyes, his hands dipping deeper, pulling at the band of my trousers, exploring the waistline, undoing the buttons, I felt how warmth started to built in my core, the anticipation, it made me bent my knees and lift myself off the ground enough, so he could pull my trousers  down  but instead of dragging them off, or freeing one of my legs so he could get on with his business, he let them go around my knees. I opened my eyes again to figure out what he wanted but he disappeared behind my legs and said trousers as he pressed my knees up to my chest and dived down. The only thing I reached to make out was his hat and scarf on the ground next to me, then his mouth closed around my sex and his hot breath spread over me through the fabric of my underwear.  I gasped and dropped my head back on the ground.  His hands coming to a rest on the backside of my exposed thighs. His lips massaged my lips,  the wet of his mouth soaking through the thin textile. His nose teasing my swollen bud.  Removing his mouth he began kissing my inner thighs, now and then licking. Returning to my longing,  lower regions. His warm mouth fast chas ed away the coldness of wet fabric against my sex, making me press my hips against his face wanting more.  I had already accepted that he set the pace and all pleasure would stop if I interfered so I tightened my hands to fist s , laid back and let myself be swallowed by the sweet torture  as he let go again and returned to kissing and licking my thighs making me whimper.

Applying more and more tongue up and down my right thigh I soon had a wet trail that  dripped down and trickled tickling along the edge of the fabric of my underwear. Teeth scraped and caught the teased flesh and he groaned in delight as I breathed in shallow gasps desperately trying to keep my hands from interfering.  Dipping his face into my groin I felt his tongue prod into the crevice of my thigh,  flailing about like a serpents, tracing slowly down, making me stop breathing. My eyes flew open, when the tip of his tongue wriggled its way in under the edge of my underwear, like a hot slug, it slipped up and down the line of fabric leaving a hot trail of lust behind. I did not move, did not breath, afraid he’d stop what I desired so deeply.  Retracting to be sufficiently moisturized his tongue returned and pressed its way into my wetness. I moaned loudly pressing my rear off the ground, and only in the last moment stopped my hands from grabbing hold of him, I fell back, and fought against the  squirming I felt compel to do to get him deeper  inside me .

After a while I came down enough to relax again, noticing how I could feel him grinning against my sex. I blushed from being this needy but he felt good and I needed more.

“ Marid,” I pressed forth. “More.  _ Please _ .”  I begged making him hum with the delight of power he held over me.

Laying back down again, not moving, not interfering he continued, rewarding me for my compliance.  With a finger he pulled the fabric away, pushing my hair aside and running his tongue up the length of my opening, ending with the tip on my clit closing his lips on it, kissing it.

I moaned when he suckled, and slipped the tip of his tongue back and forth over my exposed bud, feeling empty wishing for him to take me. A pair of fingers moved up from below and started to caress my wet opening, retracting and returning, pushing a little further every time. Slowly finding their way inside. The feeling of his skin sliding against my insides wet from my needs made me tighten my thighs around his head to stop them from quiver but it did not stop him, did not make him want to punish me, only made him open his mouth full, licking me from back to front in one smooth movement, removing his fingers, plunging his tongue deep into me. Biting my thigh, he pressed his head down on my bud again, fingers finding their way inside me. I crossed my feet over his head and he repeated the onslaught of my sex. Holding him tight with my legs not caring if I snapped his neck, I moved against his tongue and fingers, he pressed his face down hard, applying pressure against my clit, moving his tongue in small, rapid movements. His fingers curling up against the ridged wall of my g-spot making me loose all control, hugging his face into me, burying my fingers in his hair, scraping my nails against his scalp, as I came.

It took a moment before I unclasped my legs allowing him to breath freely. The calmness the second orgasm had given me made me forget everything. Why we were doing this.  For a while everything was calm bliss.

I felt movement between my legs, my trousers got pulled off.  At least I had not broken his neck or suffocated him.  Marid started scaling my body, coming into view, he was naked.  Dragging my shirt over my head I soon was completely exposed to him.  He looked down at me, his eyes misty, his mouth in a crooked smile, leaning in and kissing me. Those soft lips pressing down on mine. His tongue flickering over my lips. I opened my mouth inviting him in, tasting myself  on his lips and tongue .  Moaning into his mouth when I felt his erection prod my eager opening.  Pressing the tip into me, pulling back and pressing onward again until he was fully embedded in me, his entire weight resting on top of me, his kiss deep and passionate. He felt good but did not move. I  got a contraction around him in anticipation, making him smile against my lips. I could not beg him to fuck me, his eloquent tongue  filling up my mouth .  Just before I felt frustration might make me attack him again he moved. Slowly riding me, I moaned deeply into his mouth and the sound was echoed from his throat.  His rocking increased and I wrapped my legs around his waist, inviting him to move faster but he did not, quite the opposite, pulling out resting the tip on my opening and then skewering me in one long move,  watching me intently as he did. He repeated the movement and I started breathing shallowly. Seemingly satisfied with my reaction he shifted his focus and watched himself penetrate me, a deep growl growing in his throat. The emptiness I felt when he was gone and the ecstatic lust drowning me when he pushed inside me in one stroke  drove me mad .  I tried moving my hips to prolong his stay but a warning hand pressed down on my hip and the wait for penetration grew longer making me whimper.  He continued his torment, moaning his pleasure, muttering under his breath in a foreign language. My head was empty again wrapped in a buzzing warm  sensation . My hands came to rest on his chest, palms open and flat against his sweaty skin. The slow, full length rocking continuing until we were both soaked in sweat panting. Rolling in over me his wet chest slipped against my breasts, staying inside me this time, slamming his hips down on me. Our bodies sliding into the closest physical possible, arms entwining behind my back, locking me against him as his hips came down again. I clung to him with my legs around his back and my arms around his neck.  Slipping into each other, becoming one body rocking together.

His warm breath hit my neck and he picked up speed sending a wave of pleasure out into my fingers and toes. Throwing my head back, exposing my neck, his teeth sank in and made me  contract around him, forcing a growl from him and causing him to push faster and harder. I moaned, enticing him to move faster again. I felt how his self control crumbled away and coaxed him on moaning his name,  writhing underneath him as h e  slammed into me with a force that made me tremble and hug him closer, begging him to come.  His strong arms crushed me tight causing me to gasp. His hard cock ramming into me, the sound of flesh hitting flesh  filling my ears . When I thought I could handle no more and cried out he came with a defeated roar, riding off his orgasm, slowing down.

For long the only thing that was heard was breathing. My  arms and legs w ere shaking from holding on to him, scared he would hurt me in his  lust, and now splayed out in exhaustion.  He lifted his head and looked down at me under heavy eyelids. I looked back, nervous what sweet torment he might come up with now but he merely leaned in and kissed me, deeply.

Marid rolled over on his back. We laid side by side watching the endless blue sky above us.

“You are pretty good at that…” I stated casually not knowing where we were standing after a major argument and then the best sex I had ever had.

“Son of whore,” Marid added matter-of-factly and I got a vivid picture of him growing up in a whorehouse gaining whatever experience he would like from women as long as he had something shiny to give.

“I am sorry I said that…”

“It is the truth,” he tried to sound as if he did not care but for once his silver tongue failed him.

“I don’t care where you are from,” I whispered into his ear.

“Does that mean I can have another go?” He was back to sounding like his smart ass self.

“Again? Now?” I was wrecked and I felt like I would never walk again ending my life in the scorching sun like a pile of bleached bones.

He snorted. “No.”

I relaxed hoping he was just a bit as exhausted as I and hopefully also satisfied for a while.

“Oh, you mean…”  I felt his fingertips touch my temple and run down my face.

“What?”

I turned my head away from his touch.

“Say what you think or we end up fighting again.”

I heaved a deep sigh.

“I don’t just want to have sex. I cannot.” I had never been good at one night stands and this had been an extreme exception, it just happened.

“Hmm,” was his only reply and I broke inside feeling awful and wrong. “ What  _ do _ you want?”

The question had surprised me and I swallowed hard, trying to mask how hurt I was.

“Are you crying?” He rolled over and was by my side before I could even deny it. “Don’t cry.” He said panicky pressing me against his chest. “I thought you liked it.”

I began laughing through my tears which just confused him even more.

“It is not _that_ I am crying over,” I hiccuped.

He rested his head on mine, pressing his warm cheek to my skin. His strong, slender arms, wrapped around me, reminding me of how he had kept me safe in his arms long before I even knew he desired me  and the realization gave me hope and courage to speak.

“I want you to hold me, and love me, and never leave me.” My words hung in the air.

“I won’t,” he answered and I felt uncertainty creep in on me with icy fingers choking my last hope.

I began trembling with suppressed sobs, first now realizing how much he meant to me and how impossible a relationship would be. He was a rogue, free, did what he wanted. He probably had a woman in every place he had ever been,  how else would he be such a good lover . He could pick and choose how he wanted his life, so why want a silly girl that would mean a complicated relationship?

“I won’t _leave you_ ,” he emphasized making my sobs becoming heavy breaths. “I already hold you.” He placed a trail of kisses from my jaw down my neck and continued in a murmur. “And I have loved you since the first time I looked into your eyes.”

I went still. His words falling into place like gears  in my head , making my mind work again.

“ Wha?” was my intelligent reply.

He turned me around so we looked at each other, he seemed to be gaining his stamina fast, looking as noble and cheeky as ever, I was a blubbering mess.

“ You think I would have gone through so many troubles just to get release?”  He arched an eyebrow.

I thought of what he had done to me, how  shamefully good it had felt, all of it before he thought of his own needs. I blushed and he got that snide, crooked smile on his lips, that made my heart beat faster and my head feel light.

“Past lovers must have treated you with great disrespect to fill you with such doubt.”  He was back to his eloquent self.  Snickering as he pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We should  get dressed and return to camp.”


	12. Dog Tag

We returned to camp. Marid was supporting me. My head was spinning. It had perhaps not been the best idea to get so angry, fight, and then make out passionately in the burning desert.  Lowering me down a few feet from Merida I slumped together, pulling my knees up to my chin. I felt sick. Marid returned with a waterskin and a blanket. I drank greedily while he stuck the blanket under stones over my head creating a much needed shade. I felt like crying but was too dried out.  I really loved when he cared for me.

He sat down between Merida and me keeping guard. Merida was heaving deep, sleepy breaths oblivious to what had transpired around her.  I scooted closer to Marid, placing my head on his thigh, curling up.  An arm came to rest on my form and the safe feeling of him close to me and the drama out of the way, I slowly fell asleep.

I t felt like only moments before Tyri’s voice cut into my reverie.

“Come look at this!” she was excited beyond belief which could only mean it had something to do with treasures.

I lifted my head feeling a bit better. Merida was stirring underneath her blanket and poking out a sleepy face. Tyri was looking at us in great dismay.

“Oh come on! Is this the annual picnic for the elderly?” She threw her hands up and disappeared the same way she had come.

We quickly wrapped up camp and followed her footsteps to a large dune. A stone stuck out. Tyri was working on the stone with one of her blades. Glyphs were carved into the yellow surface and richly decorated. With a _plop_ one of the colourful decorations popped out and landed in Tyri’s hand. The sun caught in the blue stone that shone with such intensity that it had to be a sapphire or at least something as precious.

“ _Ye_ _ss_ _s_ …” Tyri hummed and began on the next stone embedded in the text.

Marid grabbed her hand stopping her and earned himself a deadly glare from his sister.

“Wait…” He pushed her aside, mesmerized by the carvings on the stone. Tyri stepped back willingly, as fascinated by her brother’s reaction as he was with the glyphs.

“What is it?” Merida asked as Marid’s hand was sliding over the text, his lips moving without a sound.

Tyri was loosing patience clearly just wanting to go back plucking out precious stones.

“This is the tomb of a king…” Marid began pushing away sand revealing more of the text.

Tyri came with a bubbling sound of excitement.

“What king?” Merida enquired.

Marid’s answer was ominous and although the sun still burned from a clear sky his words sent a shiver down my spine:

“The King Without a Name… Death is only the beginning.” His hand fell down to his side as he was done reading but he remained staring empty on the glyphs.

“If that is his name then the name is pretty useless,” stated Tyri with an eye roll and began digging out gemstones again.

I too had a hard time looking away from the shiny baubles but as Marid started wandering off I tore my eyes from the glyphs and followed him.

Walking around the dune we came to another exposed part of the tomb. The wall had been broken down and a gaping hole was looking at us.

“That is not good…” I mumbled having watched enough mummy movies to realize someone had gotten in without reading the warning on the front of the tomb first.

“No…” concurred Marid. “It seems we might be closer to solving the mystery of the Necromancer than we thought.

I blushed realizing Marid and I copulated more or less on some dead kings doorstep – hope he had a good laugh about that…

“ Then we have to go in,” stated Merida right behind us causing me to swallow thickly.

“Of course we go in,” Tyri agreed coming around the dune while stuffing something into her purse. “I smell more gems inside!”

I wrinkled my nose.

“I just smell dead people…” I added.

“No no! Definitely gems,” Tyri corrected me.

“Death, rot, stale air…” I was working myself up towards an anxiety attack by the thought of going in.

“Gems smell like expansive candy,” Tyri continued.

“It’s a grave,” I looked at her to see if she had any moral qualms about that but she did not.  Sniffing deeply.

“Mmm, sugary sweet gems… And corpses.” With that Tyri jumped into the hole.

“Wait!” Marid’s voice rang out but Tyri was already gone.

“ Woooo! This is a deep grave,” her voice rang out as she audibly disappeared deeper into the darkness.

Marid swore under his breath and Merida placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We were going in anyway,” she comforted him, sticking her head into the darkness, clearly seeing nothing, and then climbing in the hole  going the same way as Tyri.

“Yay… ” I muttered without much enthusiasm.

“Maybe in there we can find a way to bring you home,” Marid encouraged me but his words had the opposite effect.

_ Home _ . Suddenly it sounded much less appealing.

“ You should go next,” Marid trapped me between himself and the darkness. “I am sure Merida is waiting for you at the bottom.”  He used his body to push me forward, his hands grabbed my hips and it tickled as he poked his fingers into my soft belly. “It is going to be okay.”

With those words I climbed in, legs first and pushed off. First I gently slipped a couple of meters, turning my head, seeing Marid’s silhouette at the opening. This was not so bad. He would follow me shortly. Then the slide under me disappeared giving way for nothingness. I gasped and swallowed my scream as I fell. Fully aware of the steep slope behind me, sanding my rear as I went. Completely blind, racing into the unknown, horror gripped my guts and I whimpered finally hitting the ground, coming to a full stop.

“ Signe?” I heard Merida’s voice.

I could not reply but a pair of hands found me in the darkness and got me deeper into the grave. I could hear pebbles and sand falling behind me and knew Marid was on his way. He took the steep slide with more dignity than me and did not make a sound.

“ Is everyone okay?” Merida  asked after the sound of Marid’s landing had died out in the darkness. Mumbled replies of  _ sure _ ,  _ yeah _ added with a deep sigh from me, mixed and echoed in the grave.

A blinding light got me to cover my eyes and groan. Tyri had gotten a torch going.

“Where did you get that torch?” Marid asked suspiciously.

“I made it from stuff laying around,” Tyri replied with not a little pride in her voice.

“ Stuff laying around…” I did not like the sound of Marid’s voice.

I looked around and my breath stuck in my throat. Skeletons were strewn out across the floor, some more bare than others, ragged clothing, broken weapons and skulls, skulls contorted in horror and agony, smiling back at me from every corner of the room,  staring at me with their empty eyes .

I felt someone touch my arm and flung myself into theirs. From the bundles of cloth and the familiar smell I knew it was Marid but I did not care if it then was Tyri, I just did not want to see the dead staring  back at me.

“ Seems like this grave have claimed its fair share of robbers,” Merida’s voice sounded nearby. “ Care to enlighten us about the story of this king?”

“ He shall not be named.  This king was not only damned in this life but also the next.” Marid informed us.

“He must have done something really bad,” Merida mused.

“ If he is the cause of the Necromancer he is probably not as dead as we might think,” Marid’s chest vibrated as he spoke.

“ But is  _ he _ the Necromancer or is he the one that make the Necromancers?” Merida was looking around as I was peeking out from Marid’s embrace trying to get a hold of myself.

The light was dying as Tyri was at the other end of the room.

“Tyri! Wait!” Merida’s voice rang out and I got scared that she might wake the many dead around us. “We need torches too.”

“Then make some,” she replied.

“Lend us some fire,” Merida commanded picking up a thighbone and coiling the ragged cloths of the dead around the top.

I nearly threw up when Merida pressed a  _ torch _ into my hand. Untangling myself from Marid, taking deep breaths. These people were dead. If they were to come back alive they probably already had. Marid held on to my hand and it was all that kept me from snapping, the warm feeling of his slender fingers wrapped around mine.  Merida had lighted her torch with Tyri’s and now brought the fire to Marid.

“We will wait with your s till later,” she stated as if I was the back-up light but it was most likely because I was so beside myself I  would probably end up setting myself on fire.

Merida’s eyes lingered at our clasped hands for a second and when she turned she had a cheeky smile on her lips.

The silence of the tomb pressed against our ears as we entered deeper into the unknown. Eerie as it was I began getting used to the dead lying around. There were many. And they all seemed so different although many of them were nothing more than a pile of bones with a skull resting on top.

Marid stopped and looked at a wall covered with glyphs.

“It is the same text as on the outside…” he muttered.

“So they had been warned,” Merida mused looking over the many dead.

“Perhaps they could not read glyphs,” I whispered looking more intensely at the dead. What was left of their clothing and belongings made me suspicious.

Marid pulled my hand and we continued walking. Tyri was busy plucking stuff from the skeletons completely unfazed by the ominous feeling all around us. She grabbed a necklace looked it over and then let it dump back with a huff. The clinging of metal and the shape of the twin pendant caught my eyes. I hesitantly slipped my hand from Marid’s and approached the skeleton splayed out on the ground. In the dying light I could see muddy green, tattered cloth over the ribs. With a shaking hand I fumbled with the chain around the neck.

“Signe…” Marid moved closer shedding light on the all too familiar accessory I had in my hand. _Harold J. Falcon 83746204 T4343 A…_

I pulled my hand back and fell on my rear, bumping into Marid’s legs.

“What is wrong?” Merida’s light came closer and I made out the field jacket behind the torso. His head had fallen back and behind it a standard M1 helmet laid untouched by time.

“You know this man?” Merida crouched next to me.

I shook my head.

“No… Not personally. But he is a soldier from World War Two.” I looked at her with wide eyes. “He is from my world. A long time ago.”

Merida nodded.

“We are definitely at the right place then.”

I nodded looking everywhere then on the soldier. Marid caught my fumbling hand and pulled me up.

“We must not linger.” He whispered and tugged on me to follow Tyri’s trail.

“Come and see!” Tyri’s voice cut through and made me flinch.


	13. The Door

Tyri led us to a door. It was round, finely decorated, and with gaping sockets.

“I see you already helped yourself…” Marid noted.

“They didn’t need them anyway,” Tyri countered.

Merida had crouched and was examining the floor.

“Ritual circles,” she muttered.

“Warlocks?” Marids brow furrowed.

“Explains the portal…” Merida mused casting a side glance at me.

“Do yo hear that?” I looked back into the darkness. A low hissing seemed to echo along the walls.

“I hear it too,” Merida drew her sword and the rest followed.

“Acolytes!” Marid clarified not making me any the wiser.

“I hate to tell you but we are standing inside their ritual circle,” Tyri informed us.

Torches got lit along the walls revealing several acolytes closing in on us. They were chanting. Merida threw herself forward but hit an invisible wall.

“We’re trapped!” Tyri shrieked and started an onslaught with her blades around the edge of the circle searching for a way out.

I pulled Merida from the floor. She did not seem harmed.  I felt dizzy. My blood was thundering in my veins, the ritual circle we were standing in had started glowing.  A ringing sound cut through the cotton in my ears and Tyri’s voice followed.

“Hey! The circle is open to this side!”

I looked at Marid and Tyri fighting to get the door open.

“I don’t think…” I began in a voice that did not sound like mine but at that exact moment the door began opening on its own.

The acolytes around us were ecstatic. Chanting loudly, their voices mingling in the echos of the tomb. One long tentacle stretched out from the darkness behind the door and wrapped itself around my ankle pulling me. I fell and felt my nails dug into the floor in a futile attempt to escape as I was pulled towards the darkness. Merida hollered and cut the tentacle off freeing me. I kicked and wriggled getting out of the tentacle that was writhing on the ground. Several more tentacles shot out from the darkness.

“Get that door closed!” Merida shouted but all three of them were too busy cutting tentacles to comply.

I was pushed backwards and with a gasp my hand slipped through something cold and stuck. My hand had passed through the invisible barrier and it did not want to return. Some sort of force pulled on it making it feel like my arm was going to tear off at the shoulder. I looked out on the acolytes, they were busy with their chanting. Maybe if I could get through and stab some of them. I pressed forward but soon realized the only place I could get through was at the exact same spot as my hand. I growled and started to worm forward, pressing my head against the weakness in the barrier, feeling the icy fingers lick over my face. Everyone was too busy with their tasks to notice me. As soon as my head was free I started pulling my other hand through, my eyes already searching the ground for the perfect weapon among the bones. My line of vision was cut by a purple robe with a golden band with glowing blue runes. I looked up. A gray haired old man, with red glowing eyes looked down on me and smiled. Not an everythin-is-going-to-be-fine kind of smile…

“There is no escape,” his deep voice was contorted and red runes across his scalp started to light up. “The King is waiting for you.” With those words he pushed me into the circle again by the mere force of his mind. I grabbed hold of his ankle desperate looking around after something to stab him with but everything was still out of my reach and I had not had Marid’s dagger since I used it on the Goblin King. The coldness swallowed me again. Looking back I only saw Marid and Tyri. Merida had gone, swallowed by the darkness behind the door. Tyri was in trouble and Marid fought beyond his strength trying to free her but she got more entangled and was pulled in. Marid held on to her hand, the only thing left outside the darkness.

My ears filled with the low laughter of the man who was pushing me in. He enjoyed the pain he witnessed, the loss, the meaningless fight. Like a madman finding joy in watching insects trapped in a spiderweb just waiting to get eaten. I locked both my hands around his ankles and looked back.

“Marid!” I shouted.

His arm still holding on to his sister had disappeared into the darkness, the other searched desperately for something to hold on to. I let myself slip in, only my hands were outside now, holding on to the madman. Marid’s hand caught my foot and I relaxed, stopped fighting against the pull, slowly slipping in and dragging the madman with me.

His laughter had stopped and he began pulling at his feet but it was too late, the barrier had gotten hold of him and I was _not_ letting go. Marid had disappeared but I could still feel his hand around my foot, holding painfully tight.

The madman called out to his Acolytes but they were in a frenzy now, swaying from side to side, chanting dreadful sounds.

“Let go,” The madman hissed fumbling for his knife in his belt.

I looked up at him into his red eyes.

“There is no escape,” I said with a thin voice as the darkness closed around me.


	14. The Awakening

A scream had filled my ears. Otherworldly. The darkness seemed endless. I held on to the madman. I could no longer feel Marid. The only thing I had in mind was not to let go of the madman. I was going to take him with me, to pay for what he did to those I loved.

Tentacles and teeth seemed everywhere and the strong feeling of eyes watching me. Thousand of dead eyes. The ankles in my hands were getting smaller, shrinking, dissolving but I kept holding on to them and the screaming finally stopped.

I gasped and sat up. Everything was darkness. Not a sound, no light, nothing. I gasped again since breathing did not come naturally to me. Then a strange lonely sound came to me. Chirping. It was crickets. I turned my head but still could not see anything. Then the sound of voices reached me. Nonsensical but persistent. It was not chanting but a calming murmur of familiarity. I drew another breath looking around. My eyes fell on something. It shone. Flickered.

“Signe?” it was gone as fast as it had come drowning in the many voices.

Something warm touched my hand. The light got thwarted by other shapes and the many voices had hushed only one string of sound. Concerned.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked. There were several shapes around me and they slowly came into focus. The first one had gray eyes surrounded by red. I blinked again and again, penetrating the liquid glace over my eyes and seeing a smile cut the face in half.

“Signe?”

“Mmm?” I tried, remembering I could make my own noises too.

“I think she is coming about,” a strange man’s voice told me.

“Do you know who I am?” The face asked and I looked at it and felt a smile spread across my own.

I was so tired and the many faces around me were just looking. I leaned back into a warm embrace.

“Do you know my name?” The face insisted.

After a while the faces went away. I laid snugly against the warmth, listening to the light crackle, practicing to open my eyes without too much blur. I was in a camp. There were people around me, talking in low voices. They were calm. I was safe.

I looked up and locked eyes with someone I knew. He did not say anything, just looked at me. I smiled lazy and he smiled back.

“Marid,” I croaked.

“Ha! You should keep her, brother.”

His smile turned to light annoyance.

“Tyri…” He said with a warning.

“She remembers you. That is more than dad ever did.”

Laughter.

I laughed to. They were alive. Merida, Marid, and Tyri. I squashed myself closer to Marid, trying to get my arms to hug him but I felt very heavy.

“What happened?” I asked clawing up into sitting position.

Merida returned and she had brought water. I drank greedily and choked on some drops.

“Easy,” she warned me. “How do you feel?”

“Weak.”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

I thought for a while.

“You were all gone and I tried to pull the madman with me into the darkness.”

“Madman?” Marid asked, his voice vibrating in his chest.

“He had red glowing eyes with matching runes and wore a purple robe…”

“A warlock,” the strange man’s voice sounded again.

“Hmm, that explains a lot.” Merida mused. “We were pulled in, the creature they had summoned killed the Warlock and broke the pact.”

“Then we killed the monster and took all the loot!” Tyri added excited.

“I still don’t get it,” I mumbled. “What was that?”

“Hmmm,” Merida thought for a while. “You remember how you arrived here in Krystara?”

“Yes…”

“Not everything that is summoned is as nice as you,” she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Did they summon me too?” I was thinking of the World War Two soldier. It seemed someone had summoned people from my world for some time.

“I think so…” Merida nodded.

“Why?” I could feel Marid’s arms tightening around me.

“I don’t know,” Merida shrugged. “I thought it was an accident but now that others have come from your world perhaps you are summoned for a reason.”

“But I’m not special…”

Marid’s fingers found mine and interlaced making a warm feeling spread all the way up to my cheeks. Merida smiled.

“Rest some more,” she said with a giggle and left.

I pressed my face against Marid’s chest. The sound of people around the campfire chatting and going about their routines lulled me into sleep along with Marid’s slow and steady breaths.


	15. Homesick

I had been unconscious for three days after my meeting with the warlock. In that time our party had left Khetar and entered Whitehelm, a green and rocky land with lots of streams and rivers. Clumps of trees in the crevices of the mountains made good hide for a camp and access to food and water was plenty.

Our numbers had grown since we entered the tomb. The strange man who had spoken when I first awoke was Luther, an old warrior, scarred and weathered. He was very kind and looked well after me when Marid left to go hunting.  Another new face was Ferit. He was special. I was both intrigued by him and frightened but I had him to thank for us still being alive.  He had  _ tasted _ the trouble we were in and if he had not dragged Luther and Alastair with him into the tomb it was doubtful if we had survived. Alastair was a knight, an  _ undead _ knight with a flaming axe. He seemed to have certain memory problems and rarely spoke, nor did he eat, or sleep, or breathe…

I jumped when a warm hand touched my shoulder.

“Hey,” it was Merida. She sat down next to me by the fire. “How do you feel?”

I shrugged. I was not sure. Felt torn. I was terrible homesick but said nothing because I would not want to  seem ungrateful or make Marid  troubled .  _ Marid _ . Having him around made me feel so good, which made me feel bad about being so homesick all the time.

Merida pulled me out of my thoughts with a silent laugh.

“You seem like a war is going on inside you,” she nudged me with her shoulder.

Luther sat across the fire and looked at me with his patient eyes and a small smile.  I sighed.

“Still feel so heavy…”

Merida nodded.

“You were able to press through a magic barrier, that takes some strength,” Luther added.

This again. We had been over what had transpired when Tyri, Merida and Marid had fought off the tentacles. How I had gotten through the circle and got hold of the warlock. The others seemed to think he had been powerless against me and that I had some special powers to have done what I did. I just thought I had been lucky. I was going to die and did something stupid to try and make it worthwhile.

I got up and left the warmth of the fire not in the mood for another interrogation, not that they were mean to me, they seemed genuinely curious, but they also kept pressing me for information as if I was not telling the whole truth.  The cool damp air amidst the pine trees closed around me and I pulled my blanket tighter.  I sniffled. At least out here I could cry without any of them thinking I was scared or in pain. I was homesick. I wanted a warm bath and a cup of hot chocolate. I wanted to sleep in a bed full of pillows and tucked under a thick duvet. I wanted privacy, a door I could close and hide behind and be me  for a while.  I did not want to travel around with a madman, an undead, a thief, or anyone who had to carry a  blade to feel safe. I was sick and tired of digging holes every time I had to go to the toilet, taking ice cold washes in a river, and wear the same clothing for  a week before I finally could get a chance to give it a quick wash in a stream and have to put it on still damp in the morning. I wanted to sleep in. I wanted to sleep. I slumped against a tree trunk and pouted. I was so frustrated th at I could not even cry, just sniffle with watery eyes.

I felt needles down my spine and with one determine sniff I looked around. Mist hung low between the old pines. Moss crept along the forest floor where branches had broken off and let the light enter. The ground was otherwise strewn with a thick la yer of pine needles. About fifteen meters away stood Marid. He had three  dead rabbits hanging from his hand. He was looking at me and I did not know if I was annoyed or happy by him finding me. I looked away, still pouting. There was no idea in hiding it since he could have stood there the whole time. For someone who was dressed primarily in orange he blended in pretty well among the brown trunks and the dark green pines.

I did not hear him before he was right in front of me, the soft forest floor muffling his steps. He sat down next to me, our shoulders touching.  I did not want his comfort but I neither wanted him to go away.

“ Talk to me.”

I shook my head and pulled my knees up to my chest. I yelped when his strong hands closed around one buttock and under a knee and pulled me up on his lap.

“ _ Talk _ to me.” It was not a request but a demand. “We can fight again if you like,” he added casually and it made me snort, breaking the silence.

“ Merida and Luther keep asking questions…” I brooded. “I-I feel like they think I am holding something back…”

“You are not the easiest to get to talk but if you say that what you have told is the truth then it is. You are not a liar.”

I rested my head against him.

“However, you are neither telling me everything…”

I felt heat rise in my cheeks, how I wished I could just tell him everything but it would seem so ungrateful.

“I have told everything about the tomb but there is something entirely  else but it is just stupid and childish.” I was running a finger along the red adornments on his sleeve. “ Ferit really freaks me out too. He keeps on staring at me and sending me weird eyes. I mean he wouldn’t hurt me,  I know that, but he’s neither doing anything to make me feel at ease.”

“If it is any comfort you are not the only one he stares at.”

I tilted my head back and looked at Marid.

“He’s eyeing you too?”

Marid grinned.

“No. But Tyri has complaint a great deal to me about Ferit’s gaze.”

I shuddered.

“ You do know that your sister is off with both Alastair and Ferit, right?”

“Yes, I did see them leaving,” of course Marid saw everything. “However it seemed to me that Tyri was doing her best to lose the two.”

“ Good luck…” I said dryly feeling how Marid was looking down on me. His brow had furrowed and he did not have an all too pleased look on his face. I turned so I could face him properly. “Oh come on, don’t tell me you have not seen it?”

Marid was trying to look puzzled but I could also see his face going sour from my words.

“Ferit is not staring at Tyri, he is ogling and Alastair is always making sure that Ferit never gets to be alone with her.”

“That is distasteful. Not Ferit nor Alastair has what it takes to be a suitable suitor,” Marid was looking into the forest.

“Tyri doesn’t need a  _ suitor _ . She can take care of herself. She needs a guy  who worship the very ground she walks on and still have  enough willpower no t to get persuaded to go on a suicide mission to procure her Krystara’s largest diamond.”

Marid sneered something in his foreign language. Then thought for a while.

“You are probably right,” he admitted and I beamed at him. “But it will neither be a madman or an undead.”

“That is not for you to decide,” I shrugged and noticed how his hand clenched around  the hilt of his scimitar. Ferit or Alastair would have a fight on their hand s if they tried anything  with Marid’s baby sister , that was certain.

“It’s great to be an aunt. Don’t you want to be an uncle? You have all the fun with the little ones and when they get difficult you hand them back to their parents,” I grinned and got him to look at me again. His expression had softened.

“You’re an aunt?” His words hit the sorest spot in my soul.

“Yes,” I pressed out, my lips started to tremble and I buried my face in his chest and cried.

His arms closed around me and drew me close, rocking me from side to side as another wave of homesickness washed in over me.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh and if you are interested in knowing what the characters look like:
> 
> Merida: https://ibb.co/5xz5WtB
> 
> Tyri: https://gowdb.com/assets/conversation/K03_Char.png  
> http://gowdb.com/assets/troops/Troop_Quest_K03.png
> 
> Marid: https://gowdb.com/assets/conversation/K20_Char.png  
> http://gowdb.com/assets/troops/Troop_Quest_K20.png
> 
> Luther: http://gowdb.com/assets/troops/Troop_Quest_K00.png  
> http://gowdb.com/assets/conversation/K00_Char.png
> 
> Ferit: http://gowdb.com/assets/troops/Troop_Quest_K02.png  
> http://gowdb.com/assets/conversation/K02_Char.png
> 
> Alastair: http://gowdb.com/assets/troops/Troop_Quest_K09.png  
> http://gowdb.com/assets/conversation/K09_Char.png
> 
> And here is a link to the game (*whispers* it is quite addictive): https://gemsofwar.com/


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